


Finnish Godfathers

by FanFicReader01



Category: Poets of the Fall
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Cameos, Christmas, Crack, Homelessness, New Year's Eve, akiko (oc) - Freeform, guess who's homeless again, kaidan (oc), karlus (oc), lmao what is humor, sometimes family is one bebe and three homeless dudes in a shack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-20 14:06:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 25,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11922480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFicReader01/pseuds/FanFicReader01
Summary: Three homeless people find a baby when it's Christmas.





	1. An unusual Christmas morning (Jari POV)

“Jaarii, wake uup!!” the voice of a familiar person echoes through my ears as I try to sleep a little bit longer. It’s not that I have anything important to do today besides surviving yet another day in the harsh winter weather that’s so common to our country.

The person who wants me awake is persistent.

“Jani?” I murmur to the person who is now _pushing_ me. A cackle.

“You’re finally waking up!” the man happily cheers. Instead of really waking up, I simply grunt and turn Jani my back while also showing him my middle finger.

“You know what you can do? Fuck off,” I hiss at him.

Somewhere else in our little shack I hear a giggle.

“Olli! Why don’t _you_ say something about Jari’s bad behaviour?” Jani huffs but Olli shoves off his ‘responsibility’ over me by saying: “It’s not my fucking kid!”

It makes me laugh because I’m nineteen already.

“Well, neither am I his parent but you’re the one here with actual kid experience!” Jani complains.

“Uh, remember how my ‘oh so great parenting’ led to me being thrown out of my _own_ fucking household? And how I lost my job which ended up with me landing on the streets?” Olli counters.

Now I decide to wake up by my _own_ will and hopefully stop Jani and Olli’s bickering that way. Luckily it works and they stop arguing. Jani now turns to me.

 

“Why wake me up so early anyway?” I ask him after I quickly threw a look at the clock. Seven AM. I still don’t know what the _actual_ time is since the clock I’m looking at, doesn’t work at all. Darn thing lost its purpose this summer after it broke and none of us cared about fixing it or paying money to fix it. After all, we still have the clock on the tower of the city and many other digital sources around us to tell us what the time is.

Jani gives me an excited look.

“Don’t you remember what day it is?” he asks and I shrug my shoulders.

“It’s too early for this,” I say annoyed. Jani now raises his eyebrow and wants me to guess again.

Instead I say: “Look, I really don’t know so enlighten me, please!”

“IT’S CHRISTMAS, YOU MORON!” Jani shouts disappointed for I do not share his excitement. Then he gives me a playful tap against my forehead.

“So what?” I dare to question him.

“ ‘So what?’ _So what?_ It’s the happiest day of the year, that’s what!” Jani exclaims and even claps in his hands like he isn’t a fully grown adult who happens to be thirty-seven years old.

When he observes my quite unchanged expression, Jani sighs: “Alright then, it’s _supposed_ to be the happiest day of the year.”

I nod in agreement and declare: “Exactly! Everyone supposes it’s the happiest day of the year but for me it isn’t. At all.”

Olli seems to agree with me and even adds: “To me it’s just another stupid day, made to profit from poor people’s backs by shoving so much shit down their throats.”

 

Yes, good old Christmas. I hardly remember the time my family and I actually celebrated it like it should be celebrated. Because every time we ‘celebrated’ it, we had family fights. Always arguing, always drama. It could’ve been avoided if aunt A would’ve remained silent or if uncle B would’ve shut up but no, boundaries always got trespassed.

So yeah, Christmas was never associated with happy memories, at least for me. I don’t really know about Jani or Olli’s Christmases though but I don’t want to ask them.

 

Now Jani sighs: “Have it your way, guys. But maybe you guys are right after all. But can we _at least_ try to make it a fun happening today?”

Olli snorts and rolls his eyes: “You mean standing in queue for a pile of shit getting thrown on a small plate which is supposed to be our Christmas treat? Oh, and don’t forget it’s freaking cold outside too!”

Jani gives up on cheering us up and leaves the shack. Olli and I give each other an understanding look before we mind our own business again.

Suddenly the other man’s face pops up in the shack again. Apparently he forgot the bottle of beer.

“Hey, my alcohol!” Olli exclaims but I gesture at him he should leave Jani be.

The blond man falls back onto his bag and lets out a sharp hiss.

“Jani looked upset,” I state and Olli gives me a simple nod in reply.

“Yeah. But why making so much fuss about Christmas?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he never had a good Christmas either and hopes to actually have a fun one for a change? You know how he is,” I guess.

“Perhaps. Always trying to be optimistic, that gal of us,” Olli chuckles.

“I heard that!” Jani’s face reappears and now he enters the shack completely. The beer bottle in his hand seems to be untouched.

“I was kidding, Jani! You know I see you as the man you are. Heck, you’re the manliest guy in this sorry excuse of a ‘home’! I mean, you have more facial hair than me and little Jari combined!”

Now it’s _me_ who gives Olli an offended look.

 “You’ll get your full beard one day,” the blond cackles.

“Here,” Jani offers his bottle to the blond but then I laugh.

“Maybe we should scavenge for some breakfast or look if there’s a line at the homeless refugee centre already,” I suggest to ease the growing tension.

“Great plan, Jari!” Jani smiles  and regains his happiness

 “Think I’ll skip,” Olli mutters.

Jani gives his friend a worried look but eventually decides to join me outside the shack. Of course, the icy breeze greets our faces and Jani hides behind his very comfy looking scarf. I pull my beanie lower so my ears get covered by it.

 

“I’m sorry for not waking up immediately and thus creating that tension between you two,” I apologize to the older man as we make our way through the park.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to feel sorry. You know Olli and I not always get along. Yet, I also know the guy _really_ accepts me for who I am and doesn’t see me as a fault of nature or some disgusting creature,” Jani smiles. Then he quickly adds: “And I also know you don’t think of me in a negative way.”

Finally we arrive at the building where the homeless can find temporary shelter.

As expected, there’s already a queue and so Jani and I patiently await our turn.

“Shouldn’t we ask for a second plate for Olli?” I ask my friend.

“Yes we can but be prepared for denial. At least we can save up some of our own breakfast for him,” Jani mutters a reply.

Of course, he always tries to find solutions and be optimistic about things.

And I admire him for that. He has had a rough time on both the streets and at home. And despite all the shit he’s been through, he still keeps fighting and believing in a brighter future.

That’s why I see him as a role model and a father. If I need help or want a simple talk, I go to Jani. Most of the time he knows how to help and how to comfort me.

Finally it’s our turn to get food served.

A small bowl of oatmeal and a cup of hot chocolate. Sadly enough Jani’s pleas and my puppy eyed face don’t convince the suppliers to give us another bowl and cup.

As we walk back to our self-made shack, we let our cups touch for a brief sec.

“Merry Christmas, Jari!”

“Merry Christmas to you too, Jani!” I cheer.

We carefully sip from our hot chocolate and take a bite from our oat every now and then. Suddenly Jani walks closer to me when we arrive at the beginning of the park. I want to ask him why but his eyes are fixed on something, or rather some folks, in front of us.

A few youngsters are blocking our path.

“Stay close to me and don’t do anything stupid,” the older man grits through his teeth as we try to walk passed them.

We fail or more likely: they don’t let us through.

“No one passes us and gets to live!” one of the youngsters exclaim. Loose threats, I think bitterly even if they’re looking quite tough.

“We just need to go home. Please, for the sake of keeping the Christmas’ spirit intact,” Jani tries but then he gets pushed back by another of the ‘gang’.

“Home? Looks like you filthy street rats don’t even _have_ a home!” another one cackles.

Tension builds up in my friend’s shoulders. I want to tell him he should back off and that we should try to find another way around them but Jani isn’t easily scared nor is he afraid to start a fight.

Before I know it, Jani is the one to push one of the youngsters.

Everyone is getting fed up and now they push my friend so hard, he falls back on the ground.

“Jani!” I yelp as I try to help him get up again but one of those kids gives me a push and I lose my balance, causing me to join Jani on the cold cobble stones.

I’ve dropped my bag with some other supplies in the process and the gang picks it up and runs off.

“Come back, you cowards!” Jani shouts and makes balls of his fists. Anger is the only expression visible on his face as he gets up and runs after them.

I try to get up as fast as I can and sprint after my friend, trying to stop him before they really beat us up.

“Jani! Wait!” I yell but the distance between him and me is getting bigger and bigger.

 

We end up in some abandoned alleyway with no catch.

Secretly I’m relieved we couldn’t catch up to those idiot youngsters. Jani is cursing like a sailor now.

It’s not very often he has _such_ short fuse, nor does he curse _that much_ in one minute. Yes, it’s true that he is the best at cursing right after Olli but he tries to keep the curse level low with me around since I’m ‘still a kid’ in his eyes.

The times he shows such aggressive behaviour, is when he feels that we’re getting treated like shit and when we’re mistreated for unfair or no reasons at all.

“It’s okay, Jani. There wasn’t a lot in my bag anyway. Probably only those extras I managed to smuggle off the tables when no one was looking.”

“But still. First they wouldn’t let us pass, then they smacked us against the ground only to run off with the few things we had!” Jani growls.

Then we get into an argue about morals and giving people what they deserve but we get shut up by an unexpected sound.

“W-was that what I think it was?” Jani stammers slightly confused. I nod.

 

“A baby!” I exclaim as our suspicions get confirmed after we walked into the other alley. A small basket with a baby in it is found among the big pile of trashcans and bags.

“I can’t believe this!” Jani outs as he immediately gets rid of some dirt covering the basket.

He takes the basket out and gives the crying baby a look.

“Jari! Quickly look if there’s still someone around!” Jani commands and so I inspect the near surroundings only to return to Jani and the newly found baby with empty hands.

“No one,” I regretfully tell my friend who then sighs.

“How could anyone leave their baby like this? Dump them like trash in this pile of… well, trash?” Jani mutters in disbelief.

He’s seen sitting down, cradling the baby in his arms in an attempt to soothe it.

“You know what? We can search these bags and see if there’s still something useful in them!” my older friend suggests and with ‘we’ he means ‘me’ alone.

When I give him a look, he rolls his eyes and points at the baby.

“Alright, alright!” I snort before I look through the trash like the sad hobo I am.

 

With no luck, we leave the alleyway be and go back into the city.

“We should go to the police office or something, you know?” I state as I see Jani heading to our ‘home’ already. He abruptly stops on the zebra crossing, causing some irritated drivers to honk at us fiercely.

“Walk on,” I hiss at him.

Jani does so but counters: “What if I want to keep the baby?”

“We can’t! We can hardly provide our own grown asses of food and shelter!” I shout but Jani refuses to believe that.

“Now I can finally be the father I never had,” he outs dramatically.

“What if someone is looking for their baby?” I question.

“No sane parent would ‘forget’ their child like that in the first place. Na ah, the baby’s coming with us!” he huffs and strides on. I have to run this time to keep up with him.

“Do you think Olli would agree with that?” I ask.

“Who knows but at least he has the parental experience that we don’t have. Besides I do not trust the police at all! Those heartless bastards didn’t even acknowledge my name change and more!” Jani bitterly replies.

“Listen, Jani. This isn’t about you now. This is about the _baby_!” I dare to raise my voice.

“Oh, okay then!” Jani now turns to the baby, brings it closer to his face and asks the baby’s opinion.

Then he imitates a baby voice, saying: “I think Jani is right. After all, you found me! I wanna be with you!”

Eventually he adds: “Maybe this is a sign of God! Maybe God has blessed us with this wonderful new life! And one cannot refuse a gift of God!”

“Since when are you so religious, Jani?” I cackle amused.

“I just decided this baby can’t be a mere coincidental happening!”

I let out an agitated sigh.

“Alright then. But you know _you_ ’ll have to bear the consequences, right? I don’t want to be responsible for all this!” I finally give in to this stubborn idiot.

Jani shows me a triumphal grin and then we continue our way to the shack.

This time around, we aren’t met with any difficulties.


	2. God's Christmas gift? (Olli POV)

Eventually I decide to do something useful while Jari and Jani are scavenging for food. I scan our small shack and wonder if the  place needs some dusting. Probably the answer is a ‘yes’.

First I crawl outside with the bottle Jani gave me in my hand.

 “Fuck winter,” I snarl as soon as my head pops out of the slightly warm comfort that is our shack.

A big pile of snow surrounds the wooden structure and I’m surprised once more the darn thing hasn’t broken apart yet. Must’ve been Jani’s great help when it comes to the “architecture” of this whole building.

I stretch my back and take a swig from my beer.

“That makes a bastard like me happy in the early morning!” I exclaim to the grey sky. From the distance I must look like a grumpy old man. Guess I kind of am with me nearing my forties. Still five years to go before I reach the actual number.

Exaggeratedly I swing the bottle around before I move inside.

Maybe the three pillows and the blankets go first? But where should I put them after I’ve cleaned them? Back in another pile of dusty shit that is.

As I keep wondering how to properly clean this place without having to carry some of it outside in the freezing cold, the idea of cleaning becomes less and less pleasant to me so I just slump down against my bag and take another swig of my beer.

 Oh well, we all stink and are smelly and in the end it doesn’t matter so there’s absolutely no need for cleaning.

 

After I’ve awoken from a sudden but peaceful slumber I wonder what takes my fellow hobos so long. Of course looking at the broken clock won’t help. Yet I stare at it. Must be a habit of us.

As soon as I crawl up, I curse for having a stupid and painful back.

It makes me go for the bottle once more. I take our only foldable crutch -it has kind of become our little throne- and drag it outside. I settle on the crutch in front of our shack like I’m a fucking camper or something.

This time the alcohol burns as it slides down my sore throat. Fucking amazing. The only liquid I love starts to turn against me.

But if I’m truly honest with myself, I know the alcohol ruined my whole damned life.

 

I snap at a bird who has landed in front of me and after the animal flew away, I spot two figures approaching in the distance. My eyes turn to slits as I focus on them.

Finally, they’re back.

First thing I notice is the basket in Jari’s hand. It wasn’t there when they left, right? It’s not his usual scavenging bag. Bet some fuckers stole it or that silly kid lost it somewhere.

Second thing I remark is Jani who’s carrying something with great care. I jump off my crutch when I suspect Jani’s rather carrying _someone_ than something.

 “You got to be fucking kidding me?!” I dare to exclaim as my fellow homeless friends stand in front of me.

Jani freaking Snellman is carrying a baby!

 “Language,” Jani snorts but also throws me a smug grin and when I look for more answers in Jari’s eyes, the youngster simply rolls them.

Before I can think things through or worry about all the consequences a baby could cause, Jani exclaims: “Look, Olli! Look what God blessed us with on Christmas! A baby!”

Instead of sharing the older man’s joy, I let out an agitated sigh before I sarcastically clap my hands.

“Congratulations! Bet your mo- fatherly instincts kicked in, huh!”

“Of course! Olli, be honest with me, if _you_ would find a helpless and _abandoned_ baby, would you leave it be?” Jani’s fierce eyes look into mine.

 “Well, no I would take it to-”, before I can finish my sentence, Jani goes into the shack where he settles down on one of the bags and starts lulling the baby.

 

 “I told him we should go to the police,” Jari and I still stand outside.

“Guess so. But let me guess, Jani wants to keep the baby,” I snort and Jari nods. Another groan.

 “Of course he wants to,” without adding more I join Jani in the shack. The kid soon follows.

“Now tell me, from start to finish, how the hell did you find this little thing?” I want to know. Although I try to pretend to hate the baby, I can’t help but think about the beautiful moment my own son was born.

Jani inhales deeply before he answers to my questions.

 “Some douchebags prevented us from going through the park. Beat us a little bit up too.”                      

Now I notice the bruise on Jani’s cheek. And Jani notices me noticing him.

 “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about me, Olli. But yeah, they stole Jari’s bag and I chased after them but with no luck however.”

 “Better that way or they might’ve really beaten us up!” Jari counters as he crosses his arms.

“Anyway, while we were catching our breaths in an abandoned alley, we heard the crying of that kiddo and so we looked for the source of the sound and found a baby!” Jani exclaims.

He brushes his finger over the baby’s nose in a playful way.

“You look like you could be a great parent, I have to admit,” I softly say.

The comment makes Jani brighten up and he smiles at me and I smile back.

 “Well thank you! But I bet you were a good dad too,” he says.

“You’re right. _Were_. I’m no good anymore. Maybe I’ve never been a good dad,” I huff. But to change the too personal topic I ask: “Is there no name? Birth date or anything?”

 Jani shrugs his shoulders.

 

Runway kiddo now takes the basket and inspects it. He throws out the blankets and does indeed find some stuff in it.

 There’s a small key that looks like it belongs to one of those lockers at the train station.

Apart from that, a small, wrinkled piece of paper accompanies the baby’s basket.

 “What does it say?” before Jari can respond I actually snatch the paper out of his hands.

“ ‘ _Whoever finds my child, take good care of it_.’,” I read out loud.

 “Damn,” Jani mutters.

“Whoa,” Jari says.

“Well, that doesn’t explain why the parents left the baby. In fact, it doesn’t give us more clues,” I add annoyed.

“We should give the baby a name!” Jari exclaims. Without missing a beat I reply: “Marko.”

Jani and Jari give me a confused look.

 “What? It could mean ‘manly’ or ‘soft’ and ‘tender’,” I explain.

“That’s actually a very pretty name,” Jani mutters as he looks at the baby in an endearing way. “It really fits the baby!”

Then Jani decides to bring up my past.

 “So you’ve been like this too, huh? With a baby in your arms, once?” he guesses and I nod.

“My son. My beautiful son, he could’ve been so much,” I lament.

Jani squints: “You mean he…” He doesn’t dare to finish his sentence and Jari remains silent as well.

 “Yes. Together with… my wife,” I snivel. “After that I just didn’t want to work anymore and-”

Why was I telling them this? They were my friends. Sort of. They deserved to know the truth but I couldn’t tell them the real reason why I became homeless. Because the real reason would make me look like an ignorant and idiotic bastard. Which I actually am.

 “You don’t have to talk about it anymore. I’m sorry,” Jani whispers.

 

Finally the baby starts to calm down and little Marko even laughs.

“I’ve been thinking,” Jani breaks the silence between him and me. Jari’s seen sleeping already. Or maybe he is just pretending he’s sleeping, that little brat.

 “And?”

“Well, maybe I _should_ bring the baby to the police office after all. But please, I want to keep the baby only this night. It’s Christmas after all.”

I roll my eyes but agree with him in silence. Before I fall asleep, I think about my own son. How is he doing? What did he become? Hopefully making better decisions than his trash dad.


	3. Clues (Jari POV)

The following day I wake up early. As soon as I sit up, I realize what happened yesterday. Jani and I found a baby. Olli named the baby Marko. Today we’re going to bring Marko to the police office.

My eyes scan our shack and Olli’s still sleeping. He has his trustworthy beer bottle laying on his chest. That idiot drinker, I think. But I can’t blame him, though. Many people in our situation would go for the bottle to ease their sorrows.

While Olli is still in the world of dreamers, Jani is peacefully sleeping as ever and-

Jani’s _not_ sleeping peacefully as ever. He is _gone_. Panicked, I crawl over to the blond man and shake him awake.

 “The vuck’s goin on?” Olli grumbles but I don’t leave him much time to fall asleep again.

“JANI LEFT WITH THE BABY ALREADY!” I scream in his face. Alerted, the other man now sits up as well.

“WELL THANKS FOR TELLING ME BUT YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO SHOUT IT IN MY EAR, YOU DUMB NUT!” the older man yells back and hits me on my head. I decide not to fight him because we have more important things to do now.

Olli then pushes his blanket and bottle of beer aside and joins me outside the shack.

Thanks to the trail Jani left in the snow, we can track him easily.

 “What’s gotten into him?” Olli wonders as he spots the older man sitting in the snow with Marko and the basket.

 

“Oy, you alright?” I ask concerned as we stand next to our friend.

“I-, I think I changed my mind,” Jani sniffs. Olli and I give each other a bewildered look.

“You’re planning to _keep_ the kid?” I dare to ask. Jani shakes his head and exhales, causing a cloud to appear in the cold morning air.

 “ _No_. I’m planning on finding Marko’s parents. I want to talk to his mother.”

“But why? That might be an impossible task to do!” I exclaim in disbelief. Olli pretends to cough heavily, indicating he agrees with me.

 “I know it might be impossible but I _need_ to know why she abandoned her kid like that. Maybe if I know her motives, I can forgive her. And maybe, _just_ maybe I can forgive my own parents after that too,” Jani explains in a low voice.

As far as I know, he’s been an orphan. He doesn’t know who his real parents are.

 “Oh, ok,” I say in reply. Olli doesn’t say anything.

After more silence, the alcoholic among us speaks up.

 “Alrighty then! Sitting on your sorry asses and getting sentimental won’t help us any further! We should find Marko’s parents _now_ and be done with it!”

 I have to giggle. Olli’s right but his way of getting his messages across always amuses me.

Jani crawls out of the snow and nods in agreement.

 “I guess we’ll find the locker of that key, huh?”

 

\--

 

After a very long stroll to the train station, we get inside. Jani and Olli are scanning the various lockers and I have to look out for Marko. We’ve put him back in the basket which is now stuffed with even more blankets.

 Little Marko is looking at me and giggles.

“That’s right. We’re going to look for your parents. Don’t you worry, everything will be fine,” I exaggerate my words and sometimes I wonder what babies think of us.

Would they think: ‘What an idiot people, talking to me like that? What’s up with the high pitched noises these humans produce?’

 “Found it!” Jani exclaims excited.

Now here’s a funny image: three stinky homeless dudes are standing in front of a locker, looking like they just won the lottery of god knows what.

 There are some bags in the locker. We decide to open them and look what’s inside.

 

Another key. A pack of old photos from the presumably parents and some business cards.

 

“I assume Marko’s mother is or used to be a worker at this hostess club, huh?” Jani mutters as he inspects the business card closer.

 “So… are we going to that club?” I ask.

Olli gives me a cheeky smile: “No. _We_ are going and _you_ stay put outside. Such clubs are not meant for the eyes of innocent kiddos like you!”

 “I’m not innocent anymore, you know?” I counter. Time to act like the moody teen. I could tell Olli what happened between me and my father but I’d rather not.

Instead I add: “You do know ‘boys’ my age look at porn too, right?”

It makes Jani laugh out loud as he goes through the photos. Olli shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly like it’s no big deal.

 “Alright then. But don’t hide behind me when you get an inconvenient boner!” he cackles.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m not interested in women,” I bluntly reply.

 “I know, I know, you dick loving son of mine,” Olli now dramatically clutches onto me and I have to push him off me.

 “Fuck off, Olli! You’re not my mom!”

“Guys, don’t… do that! You’re giving us unwanted attention,” Jani now hisses as he is putting stuff back in the locker.

 “No one cares about homeless peeps like us, Jani,” I snort. Yet, we still get a few disgusted or _curious_ looks from some travellers.

 After Jani has cleaned up, we decide to jump on the train that leads us to our next destination.

“To the club we go!” I cheer.

 

\--

 

The train is simply _packed_ with tons and tons of people. First the crowd was bearable but now it feels like I’m suffocating. Jani, Olli and I end up being pressed against the closed doors.

 “How long is it going to be?” I’ve never been a patient kid. Not now, not ever.

“Stop your whining,” Olli gives me a hit on my head.

 “What’s your problem?!” I snarl and try to give him a blow to the head as well. But in this cramped space _and_ with the basket with Marko in my hands, it’s a tad difficult.

 “You both need to calm down! And Jari, to answer your question, we still have one hour to go!” Jani tries to get in-between us.

I growl but decide to stop fighting. Olli decides to do the same.

As I look around me, I see many people have covered their mouths and or noses. They even try to avoid standing close to us which gives us a small advantage: more breathing space and room for us.

 Jani remarks it too as he carefully asks: “Do we smell _that_ bad?”

Olli presses his nose in his armpit and deeply inhales. “I’m fine. Must’ve been a month so I’ve gotten used to the smell!”

 “You stinky bastard” I say under my breath.

Now the blond man’s eyes look like they might pop out of his head. “YOU WERE SAYIN?”

 I throw him a smug smile and want to say something but then the train makes a sudden halt, causing some loss of balance among the passengers.

 “Due to the heavy snowfall, this train’s route will be delayed for one and a half hour,” says the women through the speakers.

One and a half hour?! Is the woman serious?

I hear people groan and curse, Olli being one of them of course.

 

A quick glance through the window tells me we’re at another halt. A new train enters the station and stops in front of us.

 As usual, I observe the folks standing in the other train.

My eyes rest on one particular man. He’s not that tall and he wears glasses. He looks a lot like my-

 “D-Dad,” I stammer in disbelief.

Now the man in the other train spots me too. He slams his hands against the window and is seen shouting stuff at me. I can’t help but keep staring at my dad who’s making _ridiculous_ gestures now.

 Gosh, so embarrassing, dad!

Shit, I need to escape before the doors open. Without explaining anything to my friends, I push the basket with Marko into Jani’s hands

 “Jari? Jari!” Jani calls me but I’m already pushing through the mass of people. I don’t hesitate when I literally climb through the open window.

It happens very clumsily and I more or less fall out of the window. My ass hurts when it hits the in snow covered concrete.

 

I start walking away. Away from Jani and Olli and the baby. But mostly, I _run_ away from my dad.

As I struggle through the snow, tears come out of my eyes. I can’t help it.

I kind of miss my home. My warm and cosy home. I miss mom. Heck, there’s still some affection left for my father. Or maybe I never really hated him?

Somewhere in the distance I hear Jani yell my name. I stumble and fall face down in the snow.

That’s when I really start to cry.

 Suddenly two strong hands pull me out of the cold and make me turn around. It’s Jani. The smaller man is standing next to him. The blond gives me a look before spitting on the floor. He is holding the basket.

 “What was that all about, Jari?” Jani wants to know. Even though he sounds a bit angry, I mostly hear the concern in his voice. “Are you alright? It looks like you’ve seen a ghost!” Jani hugs me and I let myself be hugged.

 I really needed that hug.

“Maybe, Jani. Maybe I _did_ see a ghost,” I murmur.


	4. An odd encounter (Jani POV)

After Jari’s sudden exit from the train, we have to walk the next few miles. It’s going to be a long way but I’d do anything to find Marko’s parents.

As we walk, I keep wondering about Marko’s parents and my own.

From what I’ve seen on the photos kept in that locker, they seemed to be a happy couple.

 

The woman didn’t look very tall. She sports a bob haircut. It kind of fits her black hair. She wears sunglasses and although her eyes aren’t visible I suspect her to be Asian. She wears an army green tank top and there’s a camera dangling around her neck.  Typical Asian tourists, I think with a smirk on my lips. Maybe I’m too racist or harsh, but the woman really does look like an Asian tourist.

Her husband, is almost two heads taller than her.

Just like the woman, he wears his black hair short. He sports a typical tourist shirt with flower pattern. The man wears some fancy looking sunglasses, yet it doesn’t match with the rest of his lousy outfit.

They were either on vacation when the picture was taken or they have a very awful taste in clothing.

 I wonder what happened to them. Are they still together?

 

Which also makes me think of my own parents. I never got to know them. How do they look like?

Are they still together? Did they divorce after they got me?

Would they be proud of who I am _now_?

It kind of hurts to know I may never find the answers. And it hurts knowing I’ve been parentless right after birth. Got brought into an orphanage but at age twelve they kicked me out ‘because I was old  

 enough’.

Luckily I found a shelter and a _home_ at a ‘peculiar’ night club. I wonder if living at a queer night club has shaped me or not. True or not, I finally had a place to call home, finally found people that cared about me. I wonder how the people there are doing. If I’m correct, the city we’re looking for is the exact same city where I grew up.

 

“Are you… crying, Jani?” Jari snaps me out of my thoughts. He is standing still and only now do I realize I’ve been falling behind on the rest.

 My fingers go for my  cheeks and I feel some tears.

“I’m fine. I was just thinking about Marko’s parents. I wonder what has become of them. Are they still the same smiling couple as they were on that picture? How long would it have been since then?” I wonder.

 “Hopefully we’ll find out soon,” Jari replies.

I try to catch up but my feet hurt. Yet I need to remain strong. For my friends and for the baby.

 “What if they are heartless bastards?” I dare to question.

“Prepare them to be. After all, they abandoned their kid like it was fuckin trash,” comes Olli’s reply who has slowed down his walking pace. He noticed my effort to walk properly.

 “Do we need to… eh, rest?” he asks concerned this time.

“I’ll be fine,” I say but just as I say that, my chest aches and my legs collapse and I sink into the snow.

“Jani!” both Olli and Jari shout as they reach out to me.

 “I… guess I’m not so fine after all,” I snort as I go for my ribs. “Damn ‘binder’ ” I curse. It’s not an official binder for I’ve used ace bandages instead. And apparently I might’ve actually done it too tight. I wished I still had my old binder but that darn thing got too outworn to serve its purpose.

“Then.. then take it off, no?” Olli hopelessly looks around him but he can’t find anything to help or ease my pain.

 “Go on. Go on without me! I can take care of myself,” I declare but my friends are stubborn.

“No, you’re coming with us!” Olli snaps. His voice is shaky and he sounds desperate. When we make eye-contact he quickly turns his head away.

 “I don’t give a damn if it takes us a bit longer. What matters now, is that _you_ can breathe easily so take the darn thing off!”

 “I can manage. And no way is this thing coming off!” I snarl back as I crawl back up with some assistance from our youngest fellow.

Maybe I _should_ redo the ace bandages after all but not here in public. I’ll take care of that _after_ we’ve found Marko’s parents and _after_ we’ve found shelter.

 

We continue our struggle through the snow but we eventually stop by a small café to rest.

Our feet feel swollen and our stomachs are empty.

We put our ‘food and drinks’ money on the table to order three coffees and one cup of hot milk for the baby.

 Olli takes out the baby bottle and carefully pours the milk from the cup in it.

“How long are we going to stay here?” Jari wants to know.

“Long enough to get a little warmer,” I tell him.

After we’ve finished our drinks and Olli has fed the baby the milk, we exit the café before its owner has to throw us out by force.

 

I tremble all over as we get outside and it’s like we didn’t just come from a warmer place.

 “So, where is this club? It should be in next city, right?” I mumble as I inspect some street signs. Nothing looks familiar to me.

 “Guess so. It’s two PM already, god damnit! Which means we’ll probably arrive during the fuc-, during the evening,” Olli hisses as he looks at a digital clock in one of the shopping windows.

 “We’ll need some new supplies for the baby, I’m afraid,” I randomly remark.

“Then let’s search for that first! Maybe we should look out for possible shelters too or we won’t make it to the next morning,” Jari agrees.

While Olli and I walk ahead, Jari walks behind us. I grumble and try to ignore the pain in my chest and ribs. It’s difficult not to curse and Olli notices.

 He always notices.

“You’re still hurt, Jani,” he remarks in a low voice.

“Don’t worry so much and-”

Suddenly Olli’s attention gets drawn to something in the distance.

 

“A cemetery?” Jari and I stand at its front gates while Olli is already wobbling inside.

“Look what I found!” the man exclaims in pure triumph.

Jari laughs out loud: “Of course you smelled that alcohol from far away!” I have to roll my eyes.

 “Really, Olli? Stealing from the dead?”

“The dead people are dead, Jani. They don’t need this shit but _we_ do!” Olli retorts as he opens the big bottle of whiskey and downs some of its content.

 “Feels fucking great!”

More sips from the alcohol.

“Don’t drink too much or you get drunk… again,” I comment.

“I don’t get drunk easily,” Olli hiccups, only accentuating he _is_ getting drunk already.

“Fine. Have it your way, you drunk hobo,” I sigh.

 “At least I’m not a homo,” he blabbers behind my back.

I turn around and bark back: “Well, you like both men _and_ women so cut the crap!” Olli shrugs his shoulders and slumps more against one of the gravestones.

Agitated I walk away from him and Jari awkwardly joins me with Marko in his arms.

 

“I’m sure he doesn’t mean it like that,” Jari carefully whispers.

 “I know. But still, it hurts a little. And I’m having a short fuse lately.”

“That’s alright. Shall we look for baby supplies now?” Jari tries to calm me down and it works. Quickly I walk around the cemetery, hoping to find something useful.

There’s some food offering here and there and I’m strong enough to resist.

 “Jani!” Jari grabs my arm and pulls it. He drags me to a nearby gravestone.

I can’t believe my eyes. Someone actually put a whole diaper set and more supplies here.

Part of me feels guilty of taking it away.

 “Don’t feel bad. Marko needs this _now_. Anyway, let’s pray for this little one,” Jari murmurs.

We pray in silence and then take what we need.

“It will be in good hands,” I whisper to the grave and hope we will be forgiven.

By the time we’re near the exit of the cemetery, Olli joins us. I’m surprised to see him _slightly_ more sober than before we parted in a fight.

 “Hey, Jani. What’s up?” he asks.

Olli has never been that great in apologizing but I know he’s trying his best. And that guy has his way of  indirectly apologizing.

 “Doing fine. Jari found a pack of diapers and milk and some blankets,” I reply with a nod.

The alcoholic smiles approvingly and walks next to me. He subtly bumps into me and I bump back in a playful way, ignoring the pain in my ribs once more.

 “Things good between us again?” he mutters.

“Yeah.”

 “I’m… sorry,” Olli finally says it out loud.

“It’s okay. It was the darn alcohol,” I say.

“Yeah. But _I_ chose to get wasted,” Olli counters.

 

The three of us continue our journey and pass an oddly parked car in one of the abandoned streets.

As we walk by, we notice something which is even weirder.

 There’s a man lying _underneath_ the vehicle. He seems to be trapped and he’s struggling to get out.

That’s when the car slips in the snow.

 “Let’s help him!”, I cry out.

Olli joins me in helping to push the car off the unlucky man while Jari has Marko in his arms.

The car is heavy of course but our perseverance outweighs the car and eventually we’re able to free the man.

 

“Thank heavens for you guys!” the man exclaims as he crawls back to his feet.

The man appears to be pretty tall. He has short dark brown hair. It looks messy but maybe that’s because he was lying on the street for god knows how long.

The man wears a fancy looking suit.

 “My apologises for this accident. Normally I take my bodyguards with me wherever I go but  when I pay my respects to my grandfather I don’t,” the man starts to explain.

 Inspecting this stranger makes me wonder why he would need bodyguards. He looks like he could perfectly stand his own.

 And as if the man himself can read my thoughts he replies: “Bodyguards. Some basic rules among us Mafiosi. Especially since I’m their _boss_!”

 I gulp worried and Jari is going pale. Olli looks uninterested however.

The man now laughs out loud, pats me on the shoulder and cackles: “Don’t worry! I won’t send my men after the guys who saved me! Which brings me to the next thing, here is my business card. Jaska Mäkinen at your service! If you ever need help or something, you know how to contact me!” the tall man takes out a business card in one swift move. I bet he has done that many times.

 “Oh, and you might like some of this as well!” Mister Mäkinen now shoves a big sum of money in my hands. I gulp at the sight of it.

“It’s the least I can do after you guys saved my life!”

So much money like it’s nothing.

 Olli takes one business card as well and looks at it.

“He’s located in the nearby city. The city we need to go to!” he exclaims.

“You sure we should ask him? Before we know it, we’ll owe him so much and look at us! We can hardly buy food for ourselves,” Jari hisses in hopes Jaska, who’s now getting inside his car, won’t hear him.

 Olli, however, isn’t afraid of the mafia boss and walks straight to the car again.

He gently taps on the window and Jaska slides it down.

 “We might have a favour already,” he grins smugly.


	5. 3 hobos, a crying baby and a mafia boss walk into a mansion... (Jani POV)

And so we all end up in Jaska’s car. Three stinky homeless guys, a crying baby and a mafia boss.

As if things couldn’t get sillier, I think.

To end the awkward silence, Jari asks: “So, eh, Mister Mäkinen?”

 “Call me Jaska. Friends and life savers call me Jaska,” the mafia boss grins as he stares at Jari via his rear-view mirror.

 “Okay. Say, Jaska, how did this exactly happen?”

Now Jaska laughs even louder than before. “It’s such a stupid accident, really. Anyway, I’ll tell you how it happened. As I wanted to visit the cemetery, my goddamn car got stuck. So, I went out to fix it to get my car moving again. But I was stupid and forgot to use my handbrake. As I was inspecting the back of my car, that darn vehicle started to slip and almost run me over in the process!”

 Again, more laughter.

I couldn’t help but awkwardly laugh along. I guess it’s better to keep a mafioso happy.

 “So, where do you guys need to be dropped?” Jaska now asks in all seriousness.

“We don’t know exactly but here’s the name and the address of the club we’re looking for,” I tell the man as I show him the business card we found in the locker.

 “Damn,” Jaska mutters as his eyes scan the address.

“Damn what?” comes Olli’s voice. He seems to get impatient.

 “Damn,” Jaska repeats, “I know the owner of that club! Petri? He’s the guy marrying my _daughter_ _today_! I’m attending the wedding which finds place at the Mäkinen Estate!”

 “Holy fuck!” Olli exclaims.

“No freaking way!” I gasp.

 “So. Unbelievable,” Jari stresses each word.

It looks like we’re going to attend that wedding right now. When I inspect Jaska’s expensive watch, I see it’s  almost three PM.

We shouldn’t complain, we’re warm now and who knows how fancy that wedding is. It could be a nice change for once.

 

\--

 

Finally we arrive at the golden gates and we step out. Once the main doors of the mansion are opened, a whole row of neatly dressed men welcome their boss.

 “Welcome back, Mister Mäkinen!” they all chant at the same time. It gives me some uneasy shivers.

“Come on in, come on in!” Jaska encourages us for we are still standing outside.

 “Don’t mind these little fellas! They saved my life and I owe them big time,” Jaska explains his staff as he walks inside.

We awkwardly tag along.

 “Well would you believe this?” Olli gapes at the high ceilings and the enthralling furniture. I myself am also blown away by the fine architecture of this building.

A wonderful young lady stands by the wide staircase. She wears an enchanting white dress.

 “Dad! Finally, you’re here!” She quickly scampers over to Jaska and kisses the man on the cheek.

“Where were you? You’re late… as usual,” she snorts offended.

Jaska only laughs and pats his daughter’s shoulder. “I’m sorry love, but your dad got stuck in the awful weather outside. But then these charming men came along and rescued me!”

I quickly nod, Jari does the same and Olli hops over to the young lady to take her hand and kiss it.

 “You must be the very happy and beautiful bride, I assume?”

That idiot flirt, I think. The bride giggles and even blushes.

 “Okay! Time to go, Olli! Let’s not annoy these people any further and eh,” I don’t know what else to say when I grab the smaller man by his collar and drag him away.

 “You can stay as long as you want! Please, enjoy the food table as well!” Jaska notes.

“We will, thank you,” I smile and start walking away. Jari behind us with Marko.

 

“What was that all about?” Olli remarks.

 “We’re not here to look at pretty ladies. We’re here on a mission from God,” I suddenly snarl.

“Gosh, you sound so much like my mom when you’re talking about God like that,” Jari huffs.

 “Jani Snellman,” the blond man stops walking and I give him a look.

“What is it?” I ask.

 “Could it be that you’re _jealous_?” Olli questions, making me go red in the face.

“What? No! Where did you get that idea?” I stammer. Maybe Olli is correct and I’m just a jealous hobo.

 “Anyway, let’s see if we find the groom who’s the owner of the club we’re looking for,” the younger man changes the subject. Thank god for that.

There are many people around. They all look so fancy so it’s difficult to spot the groom right away.

And while everyone wears brand clothing, we look like trash (which we actually come from).

 I’m wearing a worn out vest with a dirty shirt underneath, a thick scarf, some fingerless gloves, simple pants and my combat boots.

 Jari is still wearing his beanie, his wind jacket, also a scarf and normal pants with sneakers.

Olli wears a long ski coat, some loose fitting jeans and old shoes.

 We totally don’t fit the picture here.

 

Before we continue our search, we decide to eat first. There’s indeed one large table with so much food, it could feed the whole homeless community in our own city or so it seems.

While Olli is just piling up one snack after another on his plate, I decide to stay decent. Jari, being a hungry youngster, also fully fills his plate.

 We settle down on some very comfy chairs which are placed against the wall.

In silence we eat. Olli is gnawing at a drumstick like a darn animal and Jari is putting fists full of rice in his mouth like there’s no tomorrow. I groan as I keep chewing on some potatoes.

 “How’s Marko doing?” I want to know.

Jari takes a look and grimaces, even pinching his nose shut. “I think I’ll have to change the diapers, real quick!”

Now the baby starts crying and Olli and I agree as we too, pinch our noses.

 “You do know how to do it, kiddo?” the real dad among us asks.

“Sure. Don’t worry,” Jari rolls his eyes before he puts the final piece of chicken in his mouth and takes Marko with him.

Meanwhile I feel the pain in my ribs coming back and I need to cough.

 “God damnit, Jani! Let’s go to the restroom as well!” Olli now _commands_. He puts down his plate even though he isn’t finished yet.

Without taking ‘no’ for an answer, he grasps my hand drags me all the way to the restroom where we encounter our youngest member.

 “Gonna help your stubborn friend,” Olli informs our friend before he pushes me inside one of the bathroom stalls.

 

 “Gosh, this is so embarrassing!” I yelp but Olli doesn’t think so.

“It will be more embarrassing if you collapse and fucking die or something like that,” he hisses as he tries to get rid of my scarf.

I help and soon my vest and shirt come off too. When I look at my friend, I see a horrified face.

 “What? _Oh_ ,” I out as I see some serious bruises peeping out from the bindings.

I turn around and let Olli help me get rid of those ace bandages.

 “Fucking hell, how tight did you do it?” he snorts as he is struggling. I growl in pain.

“I dunno. Guess I’ll have you double-check now after I do it?”

“You better let me check, you idiot!”

Finally the sore constrictions come off and I put my hands around my chest in embarrassment.

 “Please, Jani, let me look. I want to know how badly the wounds are,” Olli pleads but I shake my head.

“You can go, it’s cramped in here already,” I bluntly try to get rid of him.

 “C’mon, you know you don’t have to be ashamed of your body. Besides, I’ve seen it multiple times,” Olli keeps his voice low now.

I roll my eyes and give in. Slowly I lower my arms and let Olli inspect me.

 “You’re having bruises and rashes,” he says and I can certainly feel it. “You should go to a doctor with that, Jani.”

 “I know but I can’t. Don’t have the money,” I argue.

“In that case-” Olli starts.

 “I should not bind anymore until the pain’s gone?,” I complete his sentence.

 “Exactly. Want to borrow my tank top? It’s pretty soft and might not irritate the skin as much as your ragged shirt.”

 “Thanks, that might… help a little,” I mutter.

Soon after Olli gets undressed and offers me his top.

 “Thanks,” I smile.

“It’s nothing. You know what? Next thing I’ll save money for, is buying you some lotion for skin irritation _and_ a _proper_ binder!”

 “You don’t have to do that. You know I can save my _own_ money, right?” I chuckle.

“I know but doing this for a friend means a lot to me. Besides, it makes me take my hands off the goddamn alcohol!” Olli sniggers before we get dressed again and leave the restroom.


	6. ... and all hell breaks lose! (Olli POV)

When we leave the bathroom stall, Jari is still fighting with the darn diaper and I cackle instead of helping like I should.

 “Don’t mind me. Just struggling a little. I think I’ll try to change little Marko’s clothes too,” Jari mutters as we pass by.

“Good, one day you’ll be the perfect father!” I chuckle as we leave the restroom.

Once we’re back in the ballroom, we scan the place.

 “Everyone looks like they’re dressed the same,” Jani snorts.

I sigh but then I spot someone who’s talking with Jaska. The other man is the only one who wears a white suit. It must be the groom.

 “I bet that’s the guy we need,” I point out and Jani follows me to the two Mafiosi.

“You two! I want to introduce you to my son in law! Petri!” Jaska exclaims as soon as he spots us.

 “He’s the guy you were looking for, right?” he asks us and I nod.

I peer at Petri. From my first impression, he has a laid-back attitude which might be too arrogant for my taste. A good for nothing, I think. And I know one when I see one. Maybe it has to do with the fact that _I_ myself, am a good for nothing too.

 “You know her?” Jani takes out the pack of photos with the couple and throws it on the table.

Petri mumbles something and then snickers.

“Ah, Akiko. Or ‘ _Kiki_ ’ as we preferred to call her. Yes, she used to work at my bar,” the man finally declares with a filthy smile on his mug.

“You know where she is now?” Jani immediately wants to know.

“Hmm... not exactly. But let me call a contact of mine! If I’m correct he still talks to her from time to time,” Petri mumbles as he takes out his phone and makes a call.

He waves his hand at us as if he wants us to go but Jani and I aren’t going anywhere. Not until we find out the whereabout of this ‘Kiki’ he’s talking about. The fact that he wants us to leave, makes me angry somehow. I really don’t like this guy.

 

“Ah, Hannu! Yes, it’s me, Petri! I’m at the wedding yes. Gosh, she’s so beautiful. I must be the luckiest man alive!” it gets followed with more small talk and I decide to push him to get to the point.

 “We need answers now,” I hiss at him.

Petri rolls his eyes and nods. Again he waves his hand, this time to get rid of the stench I must emit.

 “That’s right. Some hobos here need my help. They’re looking for that chick? You, know who I’m talking about, Hannu! It’s Kiki we’re talking about!”

Petri nods and then takes out a piece of paper and a Fountain pen. He scribbles something down and hands it over to Jani.

 “The address,” my friend inspects the words. Instead of walking away, I decide to follow the stupid conversation between Petri and Hannu some more. Just because I can.

Now Hannu must’ve said something funny because Petri just bursts out in laughter.

 “Still can’t believe she got screwed over two times in a row! First a client at the bar and now her own husband! What was his name again?”

 Petri keeps cackling.

It makes me want to hit him.

 “Yes, Kaidan was his name! Nice fella if you ask me. Guess the bitch got too demanding which must’ve lead to his breakup with her,” Petri continues his bullshit and I can’t stand it anymore.

Without further thinking, I grab the nearest bottle of wine and want to smack that son of a bitch so his nice suit will be tainted by red.

 “Olli!” Jani notices and tries to stop me. It bothers me he’s taller than me, making it easier for him to keep me in line.

 “Let me go and hit that bastard! It’s thanks to rich assholes like him I lost my job!”, I bark. It’s not entirely true but I _do_ know lots of folks who lost their jobs because of shit bags like Petri.

 

The next thing happens so fast and yet it feels like I’m moving in slow-motion.

All of a sudden, a tall waitress pops up out of nowhere. She walks passed Jani and me and then she pulls out a freaking gun!

She is aiming for Jaska. Before the bullets can hit the mafia boss, Petri jumps in front of him and gets shot not twice but thrice! Red flowers bloom out of his chest as he collapses onto the floor.

 The waitress, now discovered makes a run for it.

It leaves Jani and I baffled. People around us start screaming and running. They try to catch the perpetrator and I gawk at Petri who is now lying on the floor, coughing up blood.

Part of me smiles because that stupid grin is finally off his face.

 Jaska kneels down by him and shouts: “Someone, call an ambulance!”

“We need to find Jari!” Jani now faces me. I nod and go look for our dear friend. We don’t have to search long because we see him near the exit with that maid!

 It takes me a few seconds to understand what’s going on.

Jani, however, understands immediately what’s happening and he is storming forward with me trailing after him.

 “SHE’S TAKING JARI AND THE BABY AS A HOSTAGE!” my taller friend cries out as we try to catch up on the couple in front of us.

 

Once we found our way through the panicking mass of people, we’re back on the streets.

I hear the final scream for help from Jari as he gets pushed inside a taxi cab.

 “THERE THEY ARE!” Jani shrieks as he is already running to catch up.

I follow right behind him. Of course, two underfed homeless idiots can’t compete with a fast driving car.

 We run some more until I give up. I sit down on the sidewalk to catch my breath.

“It’s a lost case,” I pant.

“No, no it… isn’t,” Jani gasps as he stands next to me, coughing. I give him an irritated look.

“We were too late,” I flatly counter.

“The cab, Olli! It’s from one of the most known companies around. Maybe… maybe if we call for the driver, we’ll find Jari’s whereabouts! I still remember the car’s number ” Jani keeps going and strides to a phonebooth.

 “Shit, you got any coin?” he desperately asks and I reluctantly give in.

“I’m telling you, you’re too fucking late,” I grunt before I toss him one of my remaining coins.

Everything could’ve been better but at least our stomachs are filled a bit.

 “It’s worth a shot, right?” Jani asks but he’s already trying the taxi company’s number.

 

Of course, he doesn’t have any luck. None of us really has.

 “Told you it was a waste of money?” I spit on the ground and Jani gives me an angered expression.

“So you’re just giving up?” His voice sounds calm but I know inside he’s not.

 “Yes. I mean, they could’ve gone _anywhere_! It’s like looking for a needle in a goddamn haystack. I’ll say, let’s wait some more and well… just wait. It’s all we can do now and I’m getting tired,” I huff.

I forgot to take some alcohol with me.

 “Fuck you. I knew you could be heartless sometimes, but I never deemed you _this_ uncaring!” Jani now snaps at me.

 “I’m only trying to stay _realistic_ , Jani,” I reply calmly. Wrong choice. Jani pulls me up from the street and gives me a smack across my cheek. Maybe I deserved that. Now I can never tell him or Jari the truth.

 “If you’re not going to search Jari and Marko, then _I_ will. What if they’ve killed them?” Jani breaks down in tears and it makes me feel bad. I hate it when Jani cries because of my ignorant behaviour.

Yet, I keep making the same mistakes over and over. How did this guy keep up with me for so long? “Okay,” I say. I should say: “Okay, I’ll go with you.” But I didn’t.

Jani gives me a hurt look before he walks away.

 “If I don’t come back, know that I won’t miss you,” the taller man finally states. I know it’s not true but I don’t want to escalate our fight any further. The damage is done already so I let Jani leave without a proper goodbye. No goodbyes, no apologies.

 

As soon as Jani’s out of sight, I cry too even though I don’t have the right to.

 “Fucking hell, Olli! Why the fuck must you be like this, huh? You useless bastard” I curse myself and decide to look for shelter somewhere.

As I walk passed the police office, I stop and walk inside.

 “How can we help you?” A sturdy looking man ogles me.

“I need to throw something away,” I smile but inside I’m still sad and angry. The police officer frowns before he joins me outside with a trash can.

I stare at the can and mutter: “I’m afraid I won’t fit inside.” With that being said, I scuttle away.

My undefined path leads me through some dark alleyways but I’m not afraid. People better stay away from me and my bottled up anger.

 Shocked I someone lying on the street. I sprint towards him and kneel down. There’s no one else in sight.

 “Hey! You alright?” I carefully push the person on their back and then I look into the eyes of an old, grey bearded geezer. His eyes are big but their colour has dimmed. Then the old man is coughing.

 “I’m fine. I just… need to… go home,” the man whispers with a croaky voice. “A-and have my… last swig.”

 Now he points to a bottle of whiskey laying next to him.

“Sure old man, sure. Just tell me where you live and I’ll make sure you get there!”

I push away my sad feelings so I can fully help this dying man fulfil his last wish.

 


	7. Foreign family (Jari POV)

My heart is still beating wildly as I get pushed into the taxicab. The maid who now sits next to me, holds a gun to the taxicab’s head and commands him to drive away.

 The next surprise awaits me.

The waitress pulls off her hair which apparently was a wig all along! Now a rubbery mask comes off as well and it reveals a bald man with a small black beard behind it. His eyes look dark but surprisingly soft.

 If I didn’t know he just tried to kill the mafia boss in cold blood, I would never guessed he was able to pull off such horrific deed.

 “Left. Right. Right. Straightforward,” the hitman commands the driver. The hitman has a strange accent. The taxi driver is sweating nervously. From what I can see, the man has dark features and long, curly dark brownish hair.

Finally the car stops and the criminal takes me and the baby with him. It looks like we’ve arrived in another poor part of the city. It’s dark outside already.

 People, seemingly from all over the world, find shelter here.

The bald man pushes me inside one of the houses.

It’s a small but very warm place. I didn’t thought a killer would live in such a… friendly home. There’s a woman with a baby on her lap sitting on the bed. She gives us a confused look but then she smiles at my abductor.

 “Sorry voor het oponthoud,” the bald man mutters in his native language.

“Het is okay, Markus. En?”, the woman replies.

“Het is niks geworden. Ik heb gefaald, het spijt me. Ik… ik ga wat drinken, ik heb het nodig. Maar maak je geen zorgen, ik ben niet achtervolgd geworden. Oh, en eh… deze jongen? Zorg goed voor hem en de baby. Vooral de baby! Doe ze niks. Het zijn goede mensen die helaas op het verkeerde moment aanwezig waren,” Markus now says.

I have no idea what they’re saying. They seem to be friendly to each other and now the woman is smiling at me.

 “Sorry dat mijn man je hier in heeft betrokken,” she says in an apologetic tone. I just nod in silence, not knowing what else to say.

The man, who I suppose is Markus, now mutters a ‘sorry’ to me and leaves me and Marko alone by the woman. She seems trustworthy, though.

 

“Eh, come here?” she pats on the bed with her hand and I carefully approach her with little Marko in my arms. Marko starts crying.

Now the woman pulls up her shirt and starts breastfeeding her own child. I understand and hand over my baby. I’m glad Olli is not here or he might’ve made an inappropriate comment.

“Zo, hoe heet je? Naam? Eh, name?” the mother now asks with the same accent as Markus.

“I’m Jari. That’s Marko,” I reply.

“Marko. Mooie naam. Pretty name.” Then the woman points at herself. “Sanne.”

“Sanne,” I try her name. It’s a very foreign name to me but I like the name.

 “Pretty name too,” I say.

“Wil je wat drinken?” Sanne now asks. When she sees I don’t really understand, she points at a can standing on the table.

 “Oh, thanks,” I mutter as I walk over to the can and pour in some water for myself.

I sit next to Sanne again and offer her a glass too but she politely refuses. In silence, I empty my glass and observe the room a little.

There are framed pictures. Sanne alone. Markus alone. Markus and Sanne together. Markus, Sanne and their new born baby. I wonder what happened to them, causing Markus to become a killer.

 “Vergeef Markus voor zijn daden. Maar hij en Jaska hebben een nogal… tragische geschiedenis,” Sanne suddenly speaks up.

Once more, I have to gesture that I don’t understand a darn thing. The only thing I understood is ‘Jaska’ and ‘Markus’.

Sanne smiles and suddenly brushes through my hair. I let her and actually find it soothing.

 “Heb jij familie?” Sanne sounds like she’s asking a question.

“Family?”

She nods confirming.

It makes me out a long sigh. My fingers clutch more onto my glass. I slightly shake.

 

“My mother? She’s very religious. Always praying to God,” I want to sound less angry than I am. I make the exaggerated praying gesture and Sanne has to laugh.

 “My dad?  He’s a police officer. Yep, he’s a whole different story,” I silently murmur as I stare at my feet.

My mind wanders off to my old home. It’s warm and everything appears to be fine until I made my confession.

 “Gaat het?” Sanne’s voice ‘wakes me up’ from my gloomy thoughts.

“I-, I don’t really want to talk about my dad,” I say. Suddenly I feel so tired. From what I understand, I can sleep in the bed. Sanne doesn’t mind.

In the meantime Marko stopped crying and looks satisfied like the other baby.

 

\--

 

I’m back in my old house. The sun shines brightly through the windows and everything looks normal except from the scene what’s happening. The scene _I_ ’m part of.

Heck, I’m the protagonist of it.

 “J-Jari… wh-what have you done?” My father gasps while one hand is pressed on his stomach, the other hand supports his weight against the wall.

My hands are trembling as I hold the pair of bloody scissors.

In the distance I can hear my mother crying. When I look for her, she’s on her knees. Praying.

 “Dad… I, I’m sorry,” I snivel as I realize what I’ve done. Now my legs are shaking too.

Tears blur my vision and out of nowhere I hear Jani’s voice. “It’s okay, Jari. It’s okay.”

When I dare to open my eyes again, my dad has disappeared. Olli is sitting on the floor instead. Mom is gone too. She’s replaced by Jani.

 Both men are smiling at me.

 

\--

 

Finally I wake up from the nightmare and look around me. I’m lying in a warm and comfortable bed.

Little Marko is sitting on the ground together with Sanne’s baby and the woman herself is sitting with them.

 “Okay?” She asks concerned.

I wipe my eyes and nod. “Okay. Just had a nightmare. Bad dream.”

Now she gestures me to come over to her. I do so and sit down. She carefully embraces me until I let her hug me fully. That’s when I start to sob again. I miss mom. Heck, even dad is missed.

Sanne and I get startled by a heavy-knocking-against-the-window-sound. Carefully I approach the window and yelp when I see who it is.


	8. Where are you guys?! (Jani POV)

 

I didn’t really mean what I said when I left Olli behind. Yet, I can’t take my words back.

Stressed, I walk through the city in search for Jari and Marko.

Every time I see a taxi cab of the same company my friends got abducted in, I try to make them stop.

Sometimes I succeed but with no catch or clue coming from the drivers.

My road seems long and unfulfilling until I catch a glimpse of a parked taxi. The owner of it is standing outside, he looks tired.

Quickly I sprint towards the person. The man has long, curly hair. He wears a moustache and a small beard. I have to admit he looks pretty handsome.

 “Sir?” I carefully approach him.

The man wipes away some sweat on his forehead before he faces me. “You called?”

 “Did you happen to drive a young man wearing glasses somewhere recently?”

“Eh… well, that’s actually confidential information, sir,” the taxi driver stammers.

 “But I _need_ to know. And… did the kid have a baby with him? And was he accompanied with a very tall lady?”

 Now the cab driver chuckles awkwardly. He _must_ be the driver I’ve been looking for!

“Please, sir! I really need to know! That kid and that baby are like family to me!” I now plead.

Before I can control myself, I have grabbed the taxi driver by his collar. I quickly let go and apologize.

 “Alright then. Step in,” he surprisingly gives in and I can’t thank him enough so in a weird reflex I kiss the man on his cheek.

Quickly I hop into his car and we drive off.

 “That was an odd combination if you ask me. A kid, a baby and a man in woman’s disguise,” the driver mutters as we stand still at a red light.

 “A man?! That tall lady?” I exclaim in disbelief.

“Yep. Hold a goddamn gun against my head. I don’t know if it’s that clever to chase after them,” the driver warns me.

 “If there’s still a chance they’re alive, I need to know!” I counter despite knowing the dangers. But then again, I’m not easily scared.

 “We’re almost here but I’m gonna stop here. I don’t want to be involved like that. They went into that alleyway. Good luck and be careful!” the taxi driver points out.

 “Thank you and- The money!”

Shit. I don’t think I have much money left. Then I remember I still have my bandages in my pockets.

I take them out and push them in the taxi driver’s hands.

 “Here, your head must hurt after that man pushed his gun against your head!” I quickly say before stepping out and running off.

Part of me feels bad for him but I don’t have time to play legal citizen tonight.

 

I sprint into the alley but have to stop when I feel my ribs ache again. Stupid bandages.

After I caught my breath and calmed down a little, I hasten through the narrow street. I look through every window I can find and slam my hands against them, in hopes of someone reacting to my quite bombastic acts.

 I cough and keep shouting “Jari! Marko!”

Then I approach a new window which has some curtains in front of it. Once more, I slam my fists against the window and keep yelling my friend’s name.

Now the curtains get opened and Jari is goggling me confused. It takes him a second who he is looking at and when he realizes, he shrieks and it makes me laugh out loud.

 I get invited to come inside and notice Jari’s not alone. Marko is with him but there’s a woman with a baby of her own present as well.

She speaks in a language I can’t understand but she seems friendly. She serves us a small meal before we leave.

 

“So she is the hitman’s wife?” I ask Jari as we’re outside again. He nods.

 “Yep but she’s kind. She breastfed the baby and gave me a drink,” Jari replies.

“I hope it wasn’t alcohol,” I chuckle amused.

 “No, no. It was just water. But to come back to that guy who ‘abducted’ me. I still don’t understand his motives. Like, Sanne, the mother, she talked about it I believe. She said something about Jaska too so I guess they’re like rivals or something.”

 “Oh.”

“Say, Jani, where’s Olli?” There’s a worried look on his face and I think I must look worried as well.

“We had an argue. I left without him. Olli… that idiot gave up on searching for you so I went looking for you and Marko on my own.”

Jari looks shocked.

 “He told me he was being ‘realistic’ and that going after you in a city like this was impossible. I just hope he’s doing okay,” I explain as I clench my fists. That stupid idiot.

 “Do you love him?” Jari wants to know. I gulp.

“He’s a very dear friend to me, yes. He offered me the shack we’re living in like it was nothing. Well, partly because I helped him refine the structure of it. Anyway, we should go find him. After we’re reunited, we’ll look for Kiki and Kaidan.”

 

\--

 

“How’s your body doing?” Jari asks as we’re walking through the more crowded area of the city now.

“Still some pain and discomfort. It’ll pass, don’t worry so much,” I smile at my friend.

“Okay, I was thinking… would baby powder help to ease the itchy feeling?” the kid suggests.

“Maybe. But I want to find Olli first. God knows where he is!”

“Where should we look? Did he say anything before you guys parted?” Jari’s looking for clues.

I snivel: “I only told him I wouldn’t miss him. I regret that so much.”

Now Jari gives me a comforting pat on the shoulder. “He’ll know you didn’t mean it. I _suppose_ you didn’t mean it like that?”

 I nod and murmur: “True. Just in the heat of the argument, I kind of meant it but I wished I could take those words back before I said them. I was just so angry that he just abandoned the case. I hope he can forgive me.”

 “I’m sure he will. After all, it’s not the first time you two are arguing, huh?” Jari chuckles.

The kid must be right. Olli and I might argue often but we always find it in ourselves to apologize sooner or later and to forgive each other. Most of our arguments are stupid anyway.

 We’re like two kids bickering over a dropped candy cane or something.

“I bet he’s looking for shelter now,” I state. And so Jari carries Marko in his basket and I walk ahead.

We decide to go to the poorer part of town once more.

Now that we have a proper goal, it’s easy for me to navigate around the city since I grew up in this part of it.

 

The journey ends at our right destination but there’s no Olli to be seen.

My attention goes to the sound of an ambulance. Jari and I give each other a horrified look as we spot the vehicle not so far away from us.

We rush towards it and see there’s a body laying under a blanket. My emotions get the upper hand of me and I start to wail.

 “Oh my god, Olli! I can’t believe it!” I cry out as I almost throw myself on the sickbed.

The docs try to pull me off from the body but I won’t let them.

 “Olli, we didn’t even have a proper goodbye and-,” without shame I rip of the blanket covering the body and a new shock flows over me.

 It’s not Olli who’s dead. There’s a very old, assumingly homeless, man laying on the bed instead.

Quickly I retreat and I hope my face didn’t show any disgust.

 Jari is heard cackling in the background.

 

\--

 

“You thought that was funny?” I bark at the kid.

“Kind of. Y’all so dramatic,” he grins but I see he shed a few tears first as well.

 “So, what’s the plan now? It’s getting darker and darker. I think it’s better if we look for shelter as well,” Jari mutters.

I try to think clearly after getting overwhelmed by multiple things today.

 “Oh, I have an idea! We can try to find shelter at the club where I used to perform!” I exclaim.

I take Jari’s hand and we walk away.

 “If I remember correct, it’s not so far from here,” I say as I lead the way.


	9. Final wish and more shit (Olli POV)

With some effort I manage to carry the old man through the streets and he navigates me to his little tent. It’s quite smaller than our hut.

 I lay him down carefully and put a blanket on him. The man snickers and glares at me with his dull grey eyes. After he looks comfortable enough, I offer him the whiskey.

 “Thank you, young man,” the old geezer wryly smiles before he puts the bottle on his lips.

“It’s nothing and don’t call me young. I’m fucki- thirty-five already,” I grumble. I try not to curse in this dying man’s presence.

 “Ah, you remind me so much of myself when I was younger!” the old man rambles on.

“Is that a good thing?” I huff.

 “Good and bad. Of course, you remind me of my more vivid self. Back when I had a chance with the ladies!” He now downright cackles out loud.

I grimace as I now imagine this old geezer trying to flirt with women.

Then the man continues: “But you also remind me of my foolish side. Which made me end up like I am now.”

 “Guess everyone makes stupid mistakes, huh,” I say. The old man nods and starts coughing.

I want to help but he refuses my help.

“Just me… and the whiskey now,” he muses. And then he drinks the freaking bottle empty in one row. He looks like a baby, desperate for his mother’s milk.

His eyes look more empty as he exhales.

 “Hey, ol’ man! You..?” I crouch closer and want to close his eyes but then he twitches. I yelp because I thought he was dead.

 “Ahh, whiskey! That makes an old bag like me happy! Say, young man, before I go… one last wish.”

“Sure! Sure!” Now I lean closer and the old geezer takes out a little pouch and gives it to me.

 “I don’t need it anymore. So please, get rid of it for me,” he coughs.

“If that’s your wish, then so be it,” I smile. Now the old man closes his eyes and exhales his last breath.

I put the pouch in my pocket and crouch outside the tent. My eyes coincidentally fall upon the background scenery. Three towers. They look awfully familiar.

 The photos!

Thank god _I_ took the pictures with me. In a swift move I take them out and look at the picture of the couple. They’re smiling and there are three towers behind them.

The backgrounds are matching. I’m close!

 While I’m inspecting those pictures, I didn’t notice a few strangers approaching me.

“Hey!” one of them shouts at me.

Bewildered I look around me and see I’m surrounded by six youngsters. From the looks on their faces, they mean trouble. I ready myself already. Fuck, I’m not drunk enough for this fight, am I?

 

The first gang member sprints towards me and tries to kick me. His moves are clumsy and easily to avoid. However, he’s not alone and I get attacked from the back.

It makes me stumble forward and a second hit in my back causes me to fall onto the ground.

 “How fucking dare you?! One against six is a bit unfair, don’t you think?” I growl but they are not impressed.

 “It’s not about being fair or not, it’s about ‘cleaning up’ this world from dirty rats like you,” one of the guys hisses as he kicks me in my flank with his boot. I cough and feel like throwing up.

 “Hey look! There’s another rat stinking in the tent!” the tallest among them remarks as he investigates the tent.

He drags the dead old man outside his home and beats him with a stick he found. You fucking idiots, he’s dead, I think but remain silent.

 “N-No,” I only grunt but I can’t do much about it.

One asshole rolls me on my back and without permission he searches through my pockets. He takes out my special envelop and the pouch the older man gave me.

 “Look what we’ve got here!” he exclaims.

Suddenly a phone rings and the youngsters stop attacking me. They’re talking about some irrelevant shit. After the phone call they decide I’m no longer interesting and they run off but I crawl back up.

 I _need_ that envelop. It holds the money I’m secretly saving for my son if I ever see him again.

Without second thought I run after them. They didn’t expect me so that gives me the advantage of the surprise. I basically jump my perpetrator and even _bite_ him in his hand until he lets go off my stuff.

 I clutch the pouch and envelop onto me and after that, I don’t really care they mess me up once more.

 

\--

 

Luckily the bastards didn’t beat me to death, but I’m heavily wounded. Oh well, at least I got my stuff back.

I crawl to an abandoned alley to find some cover. Those darn hipsters gave me a black eye, probably a broken bone or something and lots and lots of bruises in my face.

I wonder if Jani and Jari would still recognize me after the assault. My legs no longer support me, my arms no longer help me crouch over the street and I collapse.

 Everything fucking hurts.

Somewhere in the distance I hear an ambulance but they’re probably not looking for me.

While my vision starts to go black, I feel like there’s a new presence in the otherwise abandoned street.

 “Mister, you’re hurt,” a soft, almost angelic voice calls out to me.

There’s someone staring at me and I wished they wouldn’t see my ugly mug like this.

 “Damn sure I am,” I manage to pant.

The person towering over me, wears a white dress. Is it a woman? Is she an actual angel? Am I dying?

 I stretch out my aching arm to her.

“Don’t worry, Mister! I’ll help you out,” the woman reassures me with a sweet smile. It makes my swollen face smile too and then everything goes black before my eyes.


	10. Reunions (Jari POV)

The road to the club takes us fifteen minutes. The closer we get, the tenser Jani looks so I want to check in on him.

 “Hey, Jani, you alright? You seem pretty nervous,” I ask.

My friend nods: “Yeah. It must be almost four years since I last visited the Drag Club.”

 “Drag Club?” I ask confused.

“Yeah, it’s a queer club. Men dress up like women, women dress up like men. Men who like men, women who like women. Stuff like that and more. But don’t be intimidated by some folks’ extravagant behaviours. In reality, they’re very caring and friendly,” Jani informs me as we stand in front of the backdoor of the Club. A weak neon sign is flickering above it.

 “Here we go,” my taller friend mutters before he knocks.

On the other side I hear someone grumbling and finally we get to see who it is.

A woman or man, I can’t really tell, stands in front of us. The person is wearing a fluffy pink coat. It looks like they have a makeup mask on and their assumingly blond hair is tucked away in a towel on their head.

 “J-Jani? Is that you?” the person stammers in disbelief. It’s a male voice so I assume it’s a man dressed in woman’s clothing. But from what I understand from Jani, I can’t be too sure about it.

Jani, who’s now tearing up, nods and exclaims: “‘Mother’, it’s me!”

Things get dramatic as soon as Jani’s ‘Mother’ jumps in his arms and even wraps their legs around Jani’s waist.

 “Ficlèta!” Jani cries out.

“Jani, my son!” Jani’s friend snivels and I awkwardly witness it all.

Finally Ficlèta lets go of Jani and rearranges their clothing.

 “Oh my, where are my manners? I’m Holly Ficlèta! That’s my nickname here together with being called ‘Mother’ by certain people. Oliver Ficlèta at your service,’ the man shakes my hand and I introduce myself as the runaway kid Jari Salminen.

 “Come on in! Come on in! Can’t let you poor guys wait outside in the cold any longer!”

 

Inside it’s warm and it smells a lot like cigarettes mixed with perfume.

A few men and women gather around me and the basket with Marko in. They all look endeared by the baby and me.

 They even deem _me_ cute and all. I really wished I didn’t get that much attention.

Meanwhile Jani spots another familiar face.

 “Olli!” he exclaims happily as he runs to one of the couches. I wriggle myself free from the attention of the club members and now see Olli lying underneath a blanket.

His head is heavily bruised and he even wears a bandage around his head and an eyepatch in front of his left eye.

Jani sits down by our friend and even leans over to excessively hug him until Olli grunts in pain.

 “Where the fuck were you?” the oldest man snivels.

“Out. Fulfilling a dying man’s wish,” Olli mutters. “Got ambushed by some fucking teens afterwards.”

A dying man. It _must_ be the old man we mistook for Olli not so long ago.

Our alcoholic friend certainly needs some space so I join Jani at the bar where Oliver is handing his old friend a drink.

 Without questioning my age, the drag queen offers me a drink as well.

“Fuck yes!” I grin as I take the glass.

 “Jari, you never had alcohol before,” Jani remarks and I stick out my tongue.

“Just never drank when you were present,” I smugly smile.

 “Oh well, I’m not going to help you if you throw up,” Jani replies.

In silence I now follow the conversation between him and his Ficlèta.

 

“So, Jani, how’s life going? You don’t look so good,” Ficlèta frowns concerned.

“I-, ‘Mother’, I don’t know how to put this but I’m-,’ Jani starts.

“Gay? I know that already,” Ficlèta sniggers but Jani shakes his head.

“That’s not what I meant, ‘Mother’. I know that you know I’m gay. But I wanted to say that I’m homeless,” Jani confesses. I wonder why he kept it a secret from his Ficlèta. Was it shame?

 “YOU’RE WHAT?!” the drag queen’s eyes widen in shock. He bites his fingernails before having a more or less neutral expression again.

 “You should’ve told me! You could just drop by anytime you wanted! You could even live here again!” Ficlèta exclaims.

Jani sighs and looks away, embarrassed. “I was ashamed. Of myself, of my ex and what I’ve done here in the past.”

 “You should never be ashamed of who you are, my son! Nor be ashamed of what your ex did. Besides, I thought you two were still together!”

 “Still.. I couldn’t face you. It was downright stupid of me not to notice my partner’s strange behaviour. I should’ve let him fall after he showed subtle signs of transphobia. But I-, I didn’t want to lose him. I didn’t want to see his true nature. I thought he accepted me and, and… I wanted to give him another chance, even after he cheated on me with other ‘real’ guys,’ Jani sobs as he lets his head fall onto the table.

 “That’s horrible for you, Jani!” Oliver stammers. He quickly steps to the other side of the bar to embrace Jani.

 I hesitatingly put a comforting hand on my friend’s shoulder and whisper: “I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”

 “And if that wasn’t worse enough he threw me out of his house! It really was his house… He left me with nothing. Everything was his! And… I just couldn’t return after that horrible act I did here before I left to live with that… that scumbag,” Jani wails.

Now the drag queen starts to laugh. “You mean after _that_ night? That’s alright! Money covered that little ‘accident’, Jani! Now don’t you worry about that!”

 Jani doesn’t react and I give Oliver a confused look. What ‘little accident’ is he referring to?

“Can I tell your friend?” Ficlèta silently asks and Jani gives an absent nod.

 

“So, as you may or may not know, Jani used to perform here as a drag king when he was still a gal. He really liked to perform. Almost every night he would have an act with singing and dancing involved.

One night, however, we had a very grumpy customer who said some nasty words to Jani and some other performers.

While most of my girls and boys just let it happen, Jani bit back. Quite literally. He lashed out to that guy and even threw not one but _two_ wine glasses over that guy. It was followed by a whole shit-storm of curse words, which Jani probably made up along the way.”

I try to imagine it: Jani, less hairy and with a fake moustache and beard, wearing a fancy white suit. He’s standing on one of the small podiums here, all lights directed on him. He’s singing and dancing and trying to seduce some of the customers.

Now I imagine him, enraged and yelling at that one customer.

 I can’t hold in my  laughter and now I hear a careful chuckle from Jani himself.

“Bastard deserved it. No one gets to call me an old fart fag without bearing the consequences,” Jani now looks amused as he thinks back.

 “Gosh, I was even dramatic back then, huh, Ficlèta?”

“You must have inherited that from me,” Oliver cackles.

 

\--

 

I’m bathing Marko in the bathroom of the club while Jani told me he would finally look after his own wounds with the help of some of his friends here.

 “Olli said we found the whereabouts of your parents,” I smile at the baby as I carefully rub his belly with some soap.

Marko giggles and moves wildly with his tiny arms. He’s so endearing. It makes me wonder if I looked endearing when I was born. Did my parents like me then? Did they think I was cute?

What do they think now?

I don’t think my father will ever forgive me after I stabbed him with the scissors. I didn’t really meant to hurt him. I only wanted to… protect myself and tell him I hated him for what he shouted at me after I came out to him and my mom.

 It had taken me a _whole_ week to prepare and tell my parents I was gay. And then my father just went nuts. Calling me ugly slurs and I couldn’t stand it.

Next to that, my dog suddenly disappeared and I was very certain it was my dad who got rid of the poor animal. So I just went all crazy on my dad.

 I tell little Marko what happened to my dad and my mom and I.

“Guess I’m doomed to be homeless forever, huh? No school for me anymore. Won’t find a job either.”

I let the water drain away and pick Marko up from the sink. I wrap him in a soft towel and start drying him with utmost care.

 “I think I found a new family though. A family of a cursing alcoholic and a former drag king. Three idiots who became homeless because of stupid things.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who makes an appearance now, *wink wink*


	11. Almost there (Jani POV)

We stay two nights at the old club before we leave. Olli’s wounds are fading away and so are mine.

One of my former co-workers gave me their binder.

 “Just don’t wear it all the time like you used to do. And try to avoid ace bandages,” they said and I promised it.

Oh well, even without the necessary tools, I could still hide behind all my layers of clothes.

 “You can always stop by,” Ficlèta said his goodbye and we hugged each other before I joined my friends on the streets again.

“Those were very friendly people,” Jari randomly remarks as we walk through the city in search for the three towers.

 “Yep. Always warm and welcoming,” I smile. I kind of missed that place and its people.

“Sure. Except from their fashion sense. Can’t believe they put me in a dress after they took care of my wounds,” comes Olli’s addition.

Jari and I laugh out loud as we remember Olli putting his blanket off of him and discovering he was wearing a baby pink dress.

 “It looked cute on you,” I dare to say, causing my friend to poke me.

 

“Here I laid, on the ground, begging for my life as those assholes kept kicking me,” Olli recalls as we approach the scene of conflict.

 “Gosh, there’s still some blood droplets left,” Jari remarks. I grimace at the thought of my beloved friend getting beat up. It makes my heart ache unpleasantly.

 “I’m so glad you found my friends. And Ficlèta, he found you, right?”

“Nah, it was a real woman. One of his girls,” Olli muttered.

 “Or maybe it _was_ Ficlèta, but you were so wasted already, you mistook him for a real woman,” Jari cackles and gets a smack on his head.

 “It was Angelica, you little brat!”

We have a laugh and continue our search but we don’t get very far. The night is getting closer so we have to find shelter.

We’re too far away from the club to go back so we settle somewhere among some ruins of an old building.

 

“We need some food,” I declare as I take out my wallet and put a few coins on the quickly made ‘table’.

Jari and Olli join me and then we send Jari to go shop.

“I’ll take care of the baby while Olli makes some fire,” I nod at the youngster.

“Alright. I’m back in a few minutes,” Jari agrees and disappears. I sit on the floor with Marko in my lap.

I hum a soothing toon and cradle the baby as well.

Olli’s chuckling.

 “What is it?”

“You used to sing, am I correct?”

 “Yep. And dance too. What about it?”

“Nothing. The thought of it brings me a certain joy,” Olli replies.

 “Are you making fun of me?” I peer at him.

“Nah. I think it’s kind of… cute. You, dancing and singing, just enjoying your life.”

“Oh, but I had my struggles too, mind you,” I say.

 “Anyway, we don’t know much about each other, do we?” Olli gives me a look.

He’s right. Although we’re living together for two years or so, we never talked a lot about our past.

Maybe we wanted to give each other that privacy. Maybe we were afraid of being judged.

It makes me wonder what we _did_ talk about then. Mundane stuff. Useless talk. Mostly trying to survive together. Yet, there must have been a bond between us. I can’t put my finger on it yet.

 “Maybe you should compete in a dance competition one day! Earn some money with it too,” Olli suggests but I wonder if he’s joking or not. From the looks of it, my friend is serious.

 “I’m not that good of a dancer or singer, you know?”

“Maybe you’re right. From what you told about that angry customer,” Olli laughs out loud and I can’t help but laugh with him.

When the fire’s burning fiercely, I join my friend and let my hands warm.

 “I still don’t understand the thing about those fingerless gloves. Why wearing those if you can wear gloves like this?” Olli sticks out his hands and we compare.

 “Well I can still use my fingers individually,” I grin and Olli gives me a dirty look.

“Fuck off, Olli. I didn’t mean it like that,” I chaff. “Plus I like the aesthetic.”

 “Of course you do, Jani. You’re a hobo!”

 

Our dumb banter gets interrupted by Jari who’s not walking but _running_.

It alerts both Olli and I.

 “What happened?” I immediately want to know.

“I found it! I found the house. But no good news about it,” the youngster pants as he has to catch his breath.

 “Oh. Let’s try to enjoy the evening and tomorrow you’ll tell us the bad news. I’m not really in the mood for bad stuff,” I reply and so Jari lets the bad news wait till tomorrow.

Instead we enjoy the instant noodles he managed to buy.


	12. You again? (Jari POV)

The next morning we go to the house where Akiko and Kaidan _used_ to live.

“For fucks sake!” Olli curses as I lead them to the now abandoned and _ruined_ house. Not much of the old house is still intact.

 Olli takes out the keys we found in the locker and walks over to the door. It fits perfectly and after he has “entered” the broken house, the door falls apart.

 “I’m home!” Olli exclaims and his words get echoed.

“So they’re gone for a long time,” Jani states the obvious.

“Yeah. Sorry,” I sigh.

“It’s okay, Jari. Nothing we could do about. Let’s try to find more clues. I mean, look at all the stuff they left behind!” Jani replies.

While my two friends are searching the first floor, I sneak upstairs and hope the whole house won’t crumble down as I’m climbing the stairs.

This whole house looks like a darn mess. It almost looks like Kaidan and Kiki left in a hurry and left everything behind. The thought of a sudden departure makes me sad somehow.

I’m going through several books but find nothing special. But then I stumble upon a big package of newspapers. From what I can deduct, some of them are surprisingly fresh.

 Curious, I go through the papers and inspect the small columns and advertisements.

I gasp when I see a small message addressed to _me_ in one of the more recent papers.

 

_Dear Jari,_

_Your dog has returned. I didn’t get rid of it._

_I’m sorry for everything._

_Dad._

 

I rip out that part of the newspaper and put it in my pockets. I wipe away unwanted tears and want to join my friends downstairs but then I fall over something. When I give the darn thing that caused my fall a look, I see it’s a calendar.

 I take it from the floor and examine it. There are some people’s birthdays pinned and then I see one date marked with lots of balloons and exclamation marks.

 I’m shocked.

 _Baby comes!_ The handwriting isn’t that beautiful but I can decipher it anyway.

So Kiki really _is_ the mother, I think. But why did she abandon her baby? And why did they move all of a sudden? So many questions that still need to be answered.

 I run downstairs, trip again and Olli has to catch me.

“Damn, Jari. Watch out!”

“Look what I found!” I exclaim and hold the calendar with the marked date in the air like I found some kind of treasure.

 “Holy fuck,” Olli mumbles and Jani just blinks. Then the alcoholic snorts: “Doesn’t help us any further. New clues found, though?”

I shake my head and Jani also informs us he didn’t find anything useful.

 

While we keep going through the old stuff from the couple, an unfamiliar voice speaks up.

 “Eh, can I help you with anything?”

My friends and I look up simultaneously and see an elderly woman standing on the sidewalk.

 “Actually, yes, ma’am! We are looking for the, eh.. owners?” Jani declares. He quickly steps out of the ruins. He takes out the pack of photos and shows her.

 “Oh, yes. Kaidan and Akiko lived here. Odd pair if you ask me. I mean, they kind of looked like brother and sister.”

I give Olli a quick side-glance. He looks irritated. He doesn’t like it when people don’t get to the point.

 So I quickly ask the old lady if she knows where the couple is now.

 “Golly! That’s quite the question you’re asking me, young man! I honestly don’t know. Maybe Rita from next door knows? Let me ask her!”

 

\--

 

“Kiki and Kaidan. Kaidan and Kiki, a weird couple and yet they seemed to be perfect together!” Rita mutters.

“Sometimes you could see scratch marks!” Neighbour Three declares.

 “Poor woman!” Old Lady Five sighs.

“No, no! I mean scratch marks on Kaidan! Poor man, you mean!” Old Lady  Three corrects.

 “Kaidan always had debts, right?” Neighbour Four recalls.

“Definitely a gambler and alcoholic. Kiki must’ve been a strong woman!”

 “Not really. She also lived on _his_ money. Bet she didn’t do a darn thing except whoring herself out to strangers,” the first old lady snorts negatively.

 “She was just a club performer. Erotic, yes. Whore, not much,” claims another woman.

“But they were oh so perfect together. So of course they wanted a baby,” Rita muses.

 

“ALRIGHT, LADIES. THAT’S ENOUGH CHITCHAT! SO WHERE ARE THEY _NOW_ , GOD DAMNIT!” Olli screams frustrated.

All old women who have now gathered around us, look flabbergasted by my friend’s sudden outburst.

Luckily, some of the old ladies know and give us their new address.

 “Finally!” I dare to exclaim now.

“Gosh, I don’t think you guys are going to like this,” Jani mutters.

“Why?” Olli huffs.

 “We gotta go back to our own city. That’s where they’re located now,” my oldest friend replies.

“I shouldn’t be fucking surprised. That’s where you guys found the baby first,” Olli groans.

 

\--

 

As we prepare ourselves for the long journey back, Jani is waving at a taxi cab approaching in the distance.

 The taxi driver is the same one I was with when I got abducted by Markus the hitman. To my surprise, he is wearing some bandages around his head.

The man recognizes me and apparently he knows Jani too.

 “You two again?! And who’s the blondie?” the cab driver asks suspiciously.

“A friend. Please, could you bring us to this address?” Jani shows the man the card with the address on.

 “That’s a whole different city, sir!” the man exclaims.

“Jani. You can call me Jani, my friend. And yes, it’s another city but if I’m correct your company has three connected cities and the one we’re heading for is one of them, right?” Jani smiles.

The driver sweats nervously but has to agree. I wonder if Jani also threatened this man.

 “Yes. Step in,” he mutters.

Jani gives the man a firm pat on the shoulder and laughs. “I’m sorry for not paying you properly back there but I see you’ve put my bandages to good use!”

After we’re all settled, the taxi drives away.

 

“So, what’s _you_ r name if I may ask?” Jani wants to know.

“Karlus, si-, _Jani_. My name’s Karlus. What about the other two guys? Hey kid, I see your friend saved your life!”

 “Not really. He just found me again. But yes, I was at the house of the hitman. But I was there with his wife only. She was really friendly and she took care of me and the baby,” I reply.

 Now Karlus bursts out into laughter.

“I can’t believe what’s happening to me today! First I get forced to drive to a poor part of town. My ‘customers’ are a kid with a baby and a hitman disguised as a woman! Then I meet this Jani guy here who is apparently related to you and now we meet once more and there’s even one dude more!”

 “That ‘dude’ has a name, _dude_ ,’ Olli growls insulted. ‘Anyway, name’s Olli.”

“Interesting to meet you guys. Honestly, I’m kind of glad you’re safe again,” Karlus admits.

 

The whole trip takes us two hours and I’m already going through my pouch to see how much money I have left for the nice taxi driver.

 “Leave it be,” Karlus says. “I assume you guys already have so less.”

“You sure?” I stammer because I still got some money left but Karlus insists on me keeping the money.

 “Thank you, Karlus! You really are the best! If I ever meet your boss, I’ll have you promoted!” Jani exclaims joyfully before he presses three firm kisses on the cab driver’s cheeks before he steps out.

 “I hope we see each other again soon! I feel like there’s a _deeper_ connection between us!” Jani jokingly winks, leaving Karlus all red in the face as he does not know what to reply to that.

 “Have a safe trip to wherever you need to go now,” Karlus says his final goodbyes and then he races off.

 He couldn’t drop us at the wanted address because there were some works going on at that street so he had to drop us earlier.

I didn’t really mind because now we didn’t have to spend two or more days to travel from city to city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know it, Karlus is an OC of mine which I used in a special fic that isn't posted on here. :P


	13. Back to the beginning (Olli POV)

Despite having a car drive all the way to our own city, we are actually too late to keep looking. The night has arrived and so we decide to go back to our shack.

 Fucking great of course because we still need to walk one and a half hour to get there.

Once we’re back in our trustworthy shack, Marko starts crying. Jani and I are trying to hush the little thing while Jari goes outside.

 “Where are you going?” I ask suspiciously.

“Nothing. Just going… outside. I feel like I need to call… someone,” Jari replies absently and I decide to not make a fuss about it. Everyone’s tired and needs a goddamn rest.

My eyes meet Jani’s.

 “You think he means his parents?” I want to know Jani’s take on Jari’s reply.

“I guess so.”

“Poor kiddo. I wonder what really happened to him and his parents,” I mutter honestly. From what I think, that guy’s too young to live on the streets already.

Maybe it’s time we should be more honest with each other, I think. It’s funny that’s _me_ thinking _that_ because I’ve been lying to my friends the whole time.

 My wife and son aren’t dead. In fact, they’re pretty alive. They might be happier without an alcoholic idiot like me.

 After a long silence, I stare at Jani who’s now lulling the baby to sleep. He is even _singing_ and it sounds damn beautiful. It makes me forget my sorrows. I want to confess, though. Now or I might never find the courage to try again.

 “Jani?”

“Hm? Something wrong, Olli?” Jani looks up.

“I-,” my words get stuck in my throat and that’s the same moment when Jari enters the shack again.

It looks like he cried. A lot.

 

“Jari!” I jump up from my bag and run over to the kid. “Everything alright?”

Maybe it’s finally time to show my more caring and fatherly side.

“Yeah, I’m fine it’s just my… dad… I tried to call him,” Jari snivels.

“And he didn’t pick up or?” Jani carefully guesses but the young man shakes his head.

“He _did_ pick up. And.. and he sounded so worried about me. He said he was sorry. He just kept apologizing for his behaviour and, and… I, I just stood there,” Jari trembles and I take him in my arms now.

 “I didn’t know what to say. It was like I was frozen to the ground,” he cries and I rub his back.

“It’s okay, Jari. It’s okay. Fuck… I’m not good in comforting but-,” once again my words fail me and I just hug my friend. I hope that’s enough comfort for the moment.

 “Olli’s right. It’s okay and we’re proud of you, Jari. You must’ve had a lot of courage to even call him like that,” Jani breaks the silence. Marko is peacefully sleeping in his lap.

 “I feel so ashamed because of what I did. How can my father forgive me so easily?” Jari sobs.

I don’t dare to ask him what he did but I tell him this: “Because he is your dad. And I bet he still loves you. You are his son, Jari, and that’s quite something. Take it from me, the trash dad!” I try to cheer him up.

He’s heard chuckling against me. “B-But you know, I stabbed him.”

 “YOU DID WHAT?!” I shriek confused.

“See what I mean?” Jari pushes himself away from me and crawls into his own corner. He wraps his blanket all over him so we can’t see his face anymore.

 “May I ask, why?” Jani whispers, almost inaudible.

“He.. He called me a faggot and more ugly insults after I… after I came out to him and mom. Combined with that, was my dog. He ran away b-but I thought it was my dad’s doing. So I god real mad,” comes Jari’s small voice underneath the blanket.

Now I need to do my best to muffle a very inappropriate laugh. But the thought of a small and angry Jari somehow amuses me more than it should.

 Jani notices my behaviour so he stands up without waking up Marko. He walks over to me and slaps me out of my laughing mood.

 “This is _not_ the moment,” he snaps and I nod because Jani is right.

No one knows what to say anymore so we just sit there.

When Jari peeps out from his blanket Jani speaks up.

 “Your father has changed. From what I deduct, I think he did. And now he’s sorry for that. And from what I understand, you also regret attacking your father.”

Jari gives a short nod. “Yeah, I really do. And honestly, I kind of want to go home.”

He starts to cry again and I hug my friend once more.

 

As soon as Jari has calmed down, I want to make my confession.

“Guys, I want to say something,” I start. “This may or may not be inappropriate now but it really needs to be said.”

All eyes are on me, even little  Marko woke up and is staring at me.

 “I kind of lied to you guys when I talked about my family a few days ago,” I mutter, avoiding all eye-contact possible.

 Suddenly Jani starts to look pale and I wonder if he is _that_ shocked. First he groans as if in agonizing pain and then he just collapses.

“JANI!” Jari and I both scream in shock.


	14. Marko (Jari POV)

While our friend got hospitalized, Olli’s outside drinking. He is probably that stressed, he needs some alcohol in his blood to process it all.

I sit in the waiting room with little Marko on my lap. Luckily, the baby’s quiet but I’m still nervous about Jani. I just hope he’s alright. Before he went into the hospital, he seemed to have a shortage of breath.

To distract myself a little from my own nervousness, I watch the news.

Nothing of my interest but it makes me calm down a bit.

 Suddenly the baby starts crying and I get some looks of elderly people. I roll my eyes and try calm Marko down.

 “Hush, hush. It will be alright. Jani, he’ll be fine. And uncle Olli is going to be fine too. Hush, don’t cry,” I mutter as I try to cradle the baby.

 Then a male nurse walks by. The man’s taller than me and has short, blond hair.

His blue eyes meet my brown eyes and he smiles. He stops by to give the baby a look.

 “Aw, is the baby… yours?” the man asks.

“No. Well, we’re looking for his parents,” I mutter. I don’t know if it’s okay to tell the male nurse.

 “Oh, should I bring some milk or does he need to change diapers?” the man asks.

“I honestly don’t know. I’m not that good with babies,” I confess. The male nurse now smiles and walks away only to return a few minutes later with a baby bottle.

 “Try to give him this,” he says with a nod. It helps and the baby eagerly drinks from the bottle.

“So, do you have a name for the little thing?” the nurse asks.

 “Yeah, we called him Marko.”

Now the male nurse is seen chuckling. I wonder why’s that.

 “That’s funny. Because my name’s Marko too!” the blond explains. My eyes widen.

“Whoa!” I exclaim.

 “Well, good luck with finding Marko’s rightful parents,” Marko the male nurse nods.

“A-Are you not suspicious of me? What if I’m the kidnapper or something like that?” I peer at the older man.

 “I don’t think you’re a bad guy. Otherwise you wouldn’t sit here patiently,” Marko the adult chuckles.

He looks at his watch and says: “If you excuse me, I need to help someone now. Once again, good luck with finding his parents!”


	15. Revelations (Jani POV)

I awaken in a hospital bed. I’m feeling tired and my head aches. My friends are nowhere to be seen and I’m slightly panicked because of it.

Luckily, a male nurse with blond hair enters my room and gives me a welcoming smile.

 “It looks like you’re awake.”

“What happened to me?” I ask confused.

 “You had assumingly a collapsed lung but after more examinations, you also seemed to suffer from a few bruised ribs,” the nurse explains and I groan out loud.

 “A-And my friends? Where are they?” I immediately ask afterwards.

“Excuse me, who are your friends? I’m only a nurse and haven’t seen you got brought into the hospital,” the male nurse replies with an apologetic tone.

 “A young kid who thinks he’s an adult already, accompanied by a baby and a drunk blondie,” I describe. It isn’t very useful since I kept it very vague but now the man confirms he has seen Jari.

 “You guys must’ve been through a lot to find the parents of Marko, huh?”

Oh, Jari told the man the baby’s name.

“Yes, quite a lot. It’s been a whole adventure so far. And that during the Christmas holidays,” I mutter.

 

\--

 

After I’m left alone, I think about what happened. Olli was confessing something. What was it again?

It had something to do with his wife and son. Before I could process what he told us, I suddenly couldn’t breathe anymore and afterwards I must’ve fainted.

Seriously, fuck those ace bandages I used all this time. Why was I so foolish and stubborn?

Much to my surprise, the doctors told me I could go home soon. That means we can quickly continue our search for Marko’s parents.

 

In the afternoon I’m able to leave the hospital. I join Olli and Jari at the front desk.

With pain in my heart I have to say I can’t pay all the hospital bills.

 “Wait, didn’t Mäkinen give us a sum of money?” Jari suddenly reminds us.

Quickly I look in my pockets and find the money. We shouldn’t be surprised the money covers _all_ I need to pay.

“Sure we’re going to spend it on this? I mean… if I weren’t so stupid with all the binding and-”

“Shut up, Jani. Where else do you want to get the money from? How are you going to pay otherwise? Besides, we didn’t get that money for nothing,” Olli cuts me off.

Then he quirks an eyebrow and smirks at me: “Besides, now I don’t have to use the money _I_ ’ve been secretly saving up for-”

Olli stops midsentence and when I give him a side-glance he’s going pale. Did he just spot a darn ghost or what?

 “Marko!” Olli exclaims now.

“Marko’s right here and- _oh_ ,” I mutter but then I realize what’s happening.

The blond male nurse from earlier today stands behind the front desk and is looking at our friend.

 “Dad?”

“Marko,” Olli repeats, holding in a sob.

Jari and I give each other a look and both our jaws drop in surprise. Marko the male nurse is Olli’s _son_ , who I thought was dead. But here the man stands, healthy and helping other people get healthy.

 I wonder if Olli named this new baby after his own son on purpose or not.

 

\--

 

After we’ve paid, we’re sitting in a room. Olli and his son are standing in front of a window.

Jari and I silently sit on a bed. We’re not sure if we should’ve left them alone, but Olli nor Marko seemed to mind it.

 “So you became a nurse. A caretaker,” Olli mutters. He is seen holding his son’s hand.

Marko nods: “Yes. Are you surprised?”

 “No, actually not at all. When you were little, you already wanted to take care of people. You always played doctor and you wanted to become one,” Olli smiles.

 “Oh. Yeah, I remember that.”

It’s followed by a painful silence. Jari nor do I dare to speak up. I think it’s better that way.

 Then Olli breaks that silence.

“Fuck, I mean… Gosh, I’m so sorry, Marko. I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done. The gambling, the drinking. All the pain it must’ve caused you and your mother. And of course you weren’t allowed to see or speak to me anymore afterwards, which I understand but damn… I’m sorry I fu-, I messed up so much,” Olli is on the brink of crying.

Somehow, I feel something else right now. And that’s anger. That drunk bastard _lied_ to us, to _me_.

Jari remarks me tensing up and tries to stop me but I’m already standing up, approaching father and son.

“It’s okay, father. I forgive you,” Marko simply replies.

“R-Really?” Olli stammers in disbelief.

 “Really?!” I snap also in disbelief, making the two men face me now. “Why would you forgive this _lying_ bastard?! This drunk man?” I snarl. Marko blinks confused and Olli gives me an insulted look.

 “What? I mean,” now I turn to my friend’s son and tell: “He lied to us! Your dad told us _you_ were dead together with your mother so we would feel sorry. He _never_ told us about the gambling and the drinking although I could’ve guessed the latter thing!”

 All of a sudden I remember Olli’s confession. He said he lied about his family.

Anyway, enraged and partly ashamed of my childish misbehaviour, I run away.

 “Jani, wait!” Olli desperately exclaims but I do not listen.

I turn around only one time and shout: “I’m going to find Marko’s parents right now!  I’m starting to get tired of all this shit. Goodbye, Olli!”

I dramatically flip my scarf over my shoulder and parade out of the room. I don’t give Olli a second glane and I don’t give a shit about some people giving me weird looks because of my angry face.

 Behind me, I hear Jari awkwardly tag along.

 

 “So… we’re going to find Marko’s parents without Olli?” he carefully whispers.

“Yes. I don’t care about him anymore and-,” I try to swallow my words. Shit. I left Olli behind.

When he made that confession before I fainted, he must’ve gathered all his courage to do so and now I just scold him like he was a kid.

All the guilt and shame Olli must’ve felt. Once more, I wish I could take my words back. I wonder if he can forgive me.

 There have been many times we argued and I too, said some stupid things.

“You’re worried, huh?” comes Jari’s soft voice. I stare at the younger man. He’s pulled his scarf higher and his beanie protects his ears from the cold.

 “Yes. I’ve been stupid. Anyway, what do _you_ think of the whole situation?” I need to know.

“So much is happening at once. But if you’re referring to Olli, then I gotta say: good for him. I mean, to be reunited with his son. But yeah, it was kind of a dick-move to not tell us earlier but I guess he had his reasons not to. After all, everyone has stuff they’d rather hide from others. Take me for example…,” then it gets silent.

 “What happened to you is understandable. Anyway, I’m proud you had the courage to tell us,” I smile at my friend. Then I sigh and think about Olli.

 “I should’ve been proud of him too. He must’ve been through a lot as well and I just…fucked up.”

“You didn’t. Maybe I should’ve been angry at Olli, for lying and all. I don’t know”, Jari says.

 

Then Jari starts walking again.

“Maybe we should set the anger aside, so we can focus on finding Marko’s parents. I’m pretty sure Olli can handle things without us,” the boy mutters. I have to agree.

 “So, to the police office we go?” I want to sound sure but I’m not.

“Think that’s the best way after all.”

Our journey leads us over a long bridge. It’s getting dark already. I stop for a second.

 “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I just realize today is the last day of the year. I hope it will end good for us all,” I look at the sky and see a few snowflakes fall down.

“Never mind me daydreaming. Let’s continue or this search might never end,” I chuckle light-hearted. Jari nods and we walk further.

 Our walk is nonchalantly until Jari tugs at my sleeve.

“Jani!”

“What is it?” I sound alerted.

My friend points at something and when I look, I know what he means.

 “DON’T JUMP!” I scream at a woman who is now crawling over the edge of the bridge.


	16. I got a message to deliver (Olli POV)

After a rusty conversation with my son, we part ways. Partly because he needs to work again, partly because I don’t know what else to say.

 “Anyway, know that I’m glad you’re getting married. Really, I am. I hope you’ll find happiness with your partner. And may luck be with you in the future,” I mutter a lame goodbye.

Suddenly Marko pulls me in for a strong hug. I feel some tears fall on my cheek.

 “You too, dad. I hope we’ll get to see each other more often. And I hope you get on the right path again. It looks like you’ve already changed for the best,” Marko whispers to me.

 “Thanks, son. Fuck, I’m such a failure as a dad,” I sob. Now my son soothingly caresses my back and I feel so stupid. It should be the other way around: a father comforting his son.

 “You’re not, dad. I’m still proud of you. Guess I’ll see you around?”

“Yep, I think I need to catch up on my friends,” I mutter back.

 “Goodbye, dad.”

“Goodbye, son.”

 

Instead of going right after Jani and Jari, I sit down in the income hall. I don’t know if it would be a wise choice to join them after Jani got mad at me. And he got mad for all the right reasons.

Aimlessly I stare at the TV screen.

The people are mentioning the lottery which somehow reminds me of the pouch the old man gave me. After those stupid kids beat me up, I forgot to get rid of the pouch.

I take the thing out of my jacket and open it. Such coincidence: a lottery ticket. Quickly I put the ticket back in the pouch and store it away. I could always hope for it to be the winning combination but I doubt it.

 My eyes focus back on the screen and now I’m shocked.

There’s a news flash about a baby who has been kidnapped. And the baby they show on the TV looks awfully familiar. It’s Marko, the baby.

 I _have_ to find his parents and ask what this shit is all about.

 

\--

 

After a lot of struggling, I make my way to Kaidan and Kiki’s apartment. I really hope those two didn’t move _again_.

To my surprise, the door of the apartment is open and I sneak inside. I almost trip over the trash bags that are spread across the entire income hall.

It takes some time for my eyes to get used to the dark but as soon as I can, I notice the _whole_ apartment is a goddamn mess.

Empty beer bottles and cans, trash bags basically everywhere, dirty clothes and lots of newspapers and other spam are scattered over the whole place.

It takes a lot of effort to make my way to the living room without breaking my bones. The TV is on but no one seems to be present. I want to turn off the TV but then trip and a voice emits underneath a thick blanket of garbage.

 “WHO ARE YOU?!” A man shrieks and crawls against the couch.

He has short, black hair and I suppose this is the ‘infamous’ Kaidan I’m looking for. It looks like he drank. The sight actually feels very familiar.

 “I’m not a robber if you that’s what you think. I’m just a homeless dude. What about you? You are Kaidan right?”

 “H-How do you know my name?” the man sounds confused and frightened. Maybe he should be because I’m not in a good mood at all. I snort and nonchalantly spit right into an empty beer can.

 “I got a message to deliver,” I huff and kneel down so I’m on eye-level with Kaidan.

“YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT AND A HORRIBLE DAD! ALSO WHAT HAPPENED TO KIKI? AND WHAT THE EVER FUCK HAPPENED TO YOUR BABY BOY?! HUH? ARE YOU REALLY _THAT_ IRRESPONSIBLE?!” I scream in his face.

 I’m pretty sure I saw some droplets of saliva fly into that guy’s face.

 Kaidan yelps and shudders. Then he suddenly lazily slumps against the couch and huffs: “Kiki? She left me not so long ago. And what do mean with _my_ baby boy? Kid’s not mine.”

 “ _Not_ your baby? If you got her pregnant than you are one hundred percent responsible!” I snap.

Kaidan groans annoyed and mutters: “It’s not even _our_ baby. Kiki… she stole that baby.”

 “Oh I understand and wait, what? SHE DID WHAT?!”

Frustrated I throw the empty beer can at Kaidan’s head. “And you just let it happen, you useless bag of shit?!”

 “What could I do about it? She already kind of let me hang when it happened! I didn’t know where she ran off to afterwards either!” the other man exclaims.

 “That’s no excuse! You have any idea where she is now?”

“I dunno where she is,” Kaidan sounds so indifferent, it makes me go mad.

Instead of leaving, like I should, I grab him by his collar and slap him a few times. I push him down, back in the trash where he belongs. He is no use to me anymore.

 

Without saying another word, I leave the apartment. I _need_ to find Jari and Jani. They need to know about this horrible fact.

 I’m running down the street, yelling. “Jari! Jani!”

Who, in their right mind, would kidnap a baby? Apparently that woman does. I suppose something horrible happened to her, to make her _that_ desperate.

 Or she is downright insane. And in that case, she needs to be stopped.

I just hope it’s not too late and that I can set things right for once. For my own son, for baby Marko and for Jani and Jari.


	17. What a way to end the year, huh? (Jani POV)

“Don’t jump!” I repeat. Jari yells with me as we try to close the distance between the stranger and us.

Luckily the woman calms down and carefully lands on the bridge again. Once she’s safe again, she drops to her knees as if defeated. Countless tears stream down her face but she stops when she notices Jari with the baby.

 “My son!” she cries out.

Now that I look at her, I see it’s indeed Akiko. She still has her black hair short and in a bob cut.

She looks older and exhausted due to the dark bags under her eyes. That poor mother is my first thought when I see her like that but then I remember she _abandoned_ her kid. Or so it seems.

 “Y-You are… Kiki?” Jari stammers flabbergasted.

The woman snivels and nods. “Yes, I’m Akiko. Wh-where did you find my little boy?”

 “In the trash. Which makes me wonder, why did you dump him there like that?” I ask accusingly, taking a step forward.  

Kiki, or Akiko as she seems to want to be called, shakes her head in protest.

Through her tears she sobs: “T-That wasn’t me… It- It was my husband’s doing. Kai-Kaidan, he did it without m-me knowing! I’ve been looking for my baby for days now!”

 I start to feel sorry for her. Jari gulps. I give him a nod and then the younger man offers Marko to Akiko.

She smiles at the baby and it kind of warms my heart. Finally mother and son are reunited.

 I can’t believe her husband Kaidan would do such horrible thing. If I ever pass him on the streets, I’ll have a serious talk with him, whether he wants to or not.

“Then I’ve been wrong the whole time. My apologies for my prejudices. Anyway, I’m so glad you found your son again,” I apologize to the woman.

 “We’re glad you two found each other again,” Jari adds with a smile.

“Thank you for… for looking after my baby. I’ll go now,” Akiko thanks us and we watch her leave with little Marko in her arms.

 

I shake my head as I wipe away some tears. To be honest, I’m going to miss that baby.

Jari gives me a questioning look.

 “So… what are we going to do now? Home?”

“I was thinking about finding our third wheel,” I say it as a joke but I truly wonder where that bastard is.

 “Where would you look? I mean, do you think Olli’s still at the hospital?”

I shrug my shoulders to that. Then I mutter: “I think it’s only a few hours before New Year. We could go to the centre of the city where the countdown happens. Maybe we’ll find him there.”

 “Let’s hope he will go there too to look for us,” Jari says.

“Yes, _if_ he’s going to look for us. Maybe’s heading home. Maybe he doesn’t want to return anymore after I scolded him like that,” the words slip out before I know it.

The thought of Olli leaving us for good hurts.

 “Nah, I don’t think so. After all, the shack actually is his property,” Jari lets me know and I hope he’s right.

 

 

\--

 

“To think this is how this year ends,” I sigh as Jari and I make our way to the city-centre.  

The last few days seem so surreal to me. Like, we found a baby, raced from one city to another and back in search of Marko’s parents and now his mother is found, Olli revealed his wife and son didn’t die and Jari told us what really happened to him.

 It’s only so much a guy like me can digest.

But apparently, our journey hasn’t ended yet. We still need to find the drunkard we started to call friend.

Destiny has it, he suddenly runs passed us.

 “Olli?” Jari exclaims surprised. The mention of my friend’s name rips me out of my confused mind.

The blond homeless man stands a few feet away from us, out of breath and panting heavily.

His face is red like an overripe tomato.

 Then he looks us in the eyes and tries to form words but his throat fails him.

“What’s going on, Olli?” I exclaim worried. It’s stupid to ask him for he clearly isn’t able to talk right now.

 Instead, he makes wild gestures. He kind of crosses his arms and starts to swing them from left to right in a… cradling motion?

 “Baby?” Jari guesses. Olli nods.

“And…?”

Our friend now tries to draw out the next word in the air but it’s still not clear.

 “Rectangle?” I try.

My guess makes Olli roll his eyes.

 “Hourglass?” Jari mutters after Olli redraws his ‘image’.

This time, Olli facepalms. Gosh, we must be so bad at guessing.  Then it looks like a lightbulb just ignites above our speechless friend as his eyes start to twinkle.

He does the cradling gesture and then he places his hands on his chest and –

 “Boobies!” Jari laughs.

“Yes and no!” Olli now cries out.

 “Akiko!” I hesitatingly assume.

“SHE’S FAKE!” the smaller man yells. It leaves Jari and I stunned.

 “Wha-”

“SHE’S NOT MARKO’S REAL MOTHER! SHE STOLE HIM!”

Now Jari and I give each other a horrified look. We must look as pale as Olli in his normal state if not, paler.

 “We have to find her!” I yell. The others agree and without questioning we run to the place where we last saw Akiko and Marko.

 

“How did you find out?” I want to know as we run over the bridge and try look for Akiko’s footsteps.

“I-, I saw it on the news and I met her husband or should I say _ex_ -husband?” Olli informs.

 “So where did she go?” he asks us.

“I don’t know! It probably won’t be her old home,” I snort.

 “There!” Jari yelps.

The three of us now halt and see we’re close to a small playground. We see Akiko sitting on the seesaw. From what I deduct, she’s trying to lull Marko to sleep by cradling him but as soon as she spots us, she jumps up and tries to escape.


	18. Chase through the goddamn city (Olli POV)

That woman is faster than I thought. I mean, from the glimpse I saw of her at the playground, she looked exhausted. Plus, she’s carrying a freaking baby with her. Poor kid.

 From what I understand, at this given point that Kiki can be capable of anything.

Just as we think we’ve caught up to her, the crazy lady kicks a few buckets of trash our way so we need to run into another alley.

Of course, Jari is more agile than the sorry asses of Jani  and I combined and he manages to swiftly jump over the pile of trash.

 “Guess this is not the moment to apologize?” I randomly ask my friend who’s running next to me.

“You really _are_ the worst at apologizing, you know that?” Jani says in a humorous tone.

 “Gotta admit, I’ve been acting like a douche too,” he mutters.

Much time to reconcile is not there, because we exited the narrow alley and find Jari is just a few steps behind Kiki and the baby.

 “Help me! Someone, help me!” the woman cries.

“Don’t listen to her! She’s the _real_ kidnapper!” I shout to the non-existent listening crowd. Every citizen is minding his or her own business and doesn’t pay attention to the chase that’s taking place right now.

Traffic is against us and the red lights pop on. But that doesn’t stop an angry hobo like me. Unafraid I cross the street, making lots of drivers mad.

 They honk at us but I don’t give a fuck.

All I care about now, is the fact that that darn woman is getting away with this and no one else but us seems to be able stop her. Can’t blame the ignorant crowd though. It’s not an everyday case to see three homeless men chase after a woman with a kidnapped baby.

 

My jaw drops when I witness Akiko _stealing_ someone’s van. It’s from the postman.

 “My car!” the man finally notices but it’s already too late.

Akiko is racing off and Jari, Jani and I are flabbergasted by the bold act. That woman, she really _is_ capable of _anything_.

 “Fuck,” I curse unashamed and look around me while Jani and Jari desperately try to catch up on the ever faster going car.

Fate has it that there’s a police officer nearby. The postman runs towards him and complains about his car being stolen.

The police man, who apparently is with his bike scratches through his hair and tries to help the other man. That’s where I jump in and take the police officer’s bicycle.

One shouldn’t forget a homeless man like me is also capable of anything in dire moments.

“I-, I’ll bring the bike back!” I promise but I already know that probably won’t happen.

“Wait for me!” I call out to my friends but soon I’m already passed them. We’re all focused on the escaped van.

 “GET HER, OLLI!” Jari encourages me, making me go faster. My determination and adrenaline together makes for a good combination of an extra energy boost.

This time traffic’s on _our_ side and we approach a red light again. The van decreases speed and I manage to catch up. I try to reach the door and Akiko notices. She’s seen screaming and turns the goddamn van, almost crushing me against the car next to us.

 “You shithead!” I lift my fist, not that it helps much. I try to grasp the handle of the door and try to pull it open but I have no luck. The cars start moving again and now people are honking at us.

 Yet, I remain on the driveway. I pray to Lady Luck herself I won’t be run over by another vehicle.

I manage to hold onto the side view mirror. Akiko, of course, tries to get rid of me by driving like a darn maniac.

 She rolls down her window and screams: “GO AWAY! YOU’LL NEVER GET THE BABY BACK! LEAVE ME BE! THE BABY’S MINE!” Liar.

 With that being said, she makes a sharp turn to her left and I have to let go off the van or I might collide with the darn vehicle.

My bike slips in the braking process and I get catapulted of it. I hiss and curse when my hands and face get dragged over the asphalt in the process.

 My anger is getting the better of me so without giving too much attention to my scratches, I jump onto the now crooked bike and try to pursue the van once more even though it seems to be a lost case.

 

“Olli!”

I look around me and then I see an approaching taxi cab. Jani’s hanging out of the window and holds out his arm.

 “Here!” he yells. I slow down and catch his hand. He carefully pulls me closer to the cab so I can drive with them.

 “You again!” I stammer when I see who the driver is.

“Karlus at your service again,” the man tips his hat but his eyes tell me he’s exhausted.

He must be tired of our shit.

Although we’re in the middle of an intense car chase right now, I grin: “Funny how we meet again.”

 Karlus rolls his eyes.

“Can’t believe I’m getting involved once more,” he groans. Jari cackles loudly.

“I _knew_ there was a deeper connection between us,” Jani snickers as he overdramatically wraps an arm around Karlus, almost as if they were long lost lovers.

“To the left!” Jari interrupts and the taxi cab takes a sharp turn left.

Offended, I yelp: “You want me dead, Karlus?!”

 “No! No! I’m sorry-, what’s your name again?”

“Olli, but that doesn’t matter. Instead watch out!” Once again, I hear myself screaming my lungs out when death just missed me by a hair.

 Akiko’s driving has become more desperate and she is literally swaying over the road.

 “I’ll try to reach her again,” I say as we’re now on a more straight street. “Could you boost me up?” I ask Karlus.

 “Thought you didn’t want to die?”

“Well, at least I can die an honourable death this way,” I sarcastically snort.

 “Alright, hold on tight,” the taxi driver grunts.

Jani and Jari give me a worried look. I wink: “It will be alright, now don’t you worry about me!”

After a speed boost I get “launched” forward and catch up to Kiki’s van. This time I firmly grasp the door handle and pull it open.

 The act threatens to throw me off balance, but Lady Luck blesses me with her magic. I basically jump into the van, landing on the seat next to Akiko. I take the baby from the seat and press it against me in a protective way.

 She screams and abruptly turns the van around.

 I can’t believe it when I see we’re nearing a building with a dangerously high speed. And the woman? She doesn’t seem to be in the mood for braking.


	19. One escalation after another (Jari POV)

I hold my breath when I witness the van crash into one of the flats.

Karlus stops his cab close to the scene and Jani’s the first to exit the car. Smoke’s coming from the building and we’re all surprised nothing’s collapsing yet.

 “Olli!” Jani screams, tears filling his eyes.

“Olli!” I yell too as I run after him. Much to our surprise, we see Olli outside the crashed van. Is he-?

We run towards him and kneel down. Kiki’s seen running towards an elevator.

 “Oh god, Olli, speak to us!” Jani wails.

“K-Kiki. She… she got the b-baby,” Olli grunts in pain. “Go after her. I’m fine. I’ll get up.”

 “I stay with you,” Jani counters.

It makes his friend roll his eyes. The word ‘idiot’ is readable on his bruised lips. Now the two men give me a look and I nod.

“Leave it to me!” I yell and leave Olli and Jani behind. I’m too darn late and need to take the stairs.

It will be a long climb. Once I reach the same level as her I’m sure I can hear Akiko run for her life. I groan, as she leads me to more stairs.

It’s a whole climb to the top. I hear her screaming.

 “Stay away from me! Please, help!”

“W-Wait up!”, I gasp. I throw off my beanie and also take off my jacket while I’m running. It’s getting too hot and too heavy otherwise.

Just when I thought Akiko ran out of breath, she challenges me with yet another staircase.

It eventually brings me to the very roof of the flat.

 

The wind is howling and snow has started to fall. Akiko’s stumbling her way to the edge of the roof.

Is she seriously going to jump?

To my surprise, a helicopter is flying over us, bathing us in a bright light. From what I can deduct, the helicopter’s from the news channel.

My heart wants to escape my chest and I sink to my knees out of exhaustion.  

 “No! Please, Akiko! Don’t do foolish things!” I manage to exclaim despite of running out of air.

“Go away, young man!” the woman snaps back. She is getting closer to the edge.

I crawl back up and sneak towards her.

 “This is _my_ baby! It’s my right as a mother!” Kiki now snivels. She drops to her knees and clutches onto little Marko.

 “Please, don’t involve Marko in all of this. He’s just a baby. Besides, he’s not even your baby!” I slightly growl.

 I’m getting really tired of all this running around but I don’t want this to end in not one but two deaths.

“M-Marko? He…I have the right to have him. Gosh, I’ve been foolish,” the woman awkwardly chuckles.

She seems to reflect on her deeds as if I’m not standing next to her.

 The woman stares at the snowflakes falling down and inhales sharply.

“I used to be a mother, you know? Used to become one. I hoped it would bring my husband and I together again but no… And if that wasn’t worse enough for me, I had a miscarriage.”

 “That doesn’t give you the right to steal someone else’s baby!” I dare to retort.

Stupid move, Jari.

 Kiki stands up and now stands on the literal edge of the building. I gasp and take a step back.

 “I was so done with life, I went a bit crazy yes. But then I saw those other healthy looking babies in the ward. And, and… this baby, he smiled at me. And that was… that was the moment I knew he would be mine and mine alone. We would be happy together. Now I just want to be reborn,” she laments.

 This lady’s definitely crazy _and_ dangerous.

“Don’t. Take. Another. Step,” I calmly say and hope she will listen. Just as she’s about to jump I hear someone downtown scream at her.

 “AKIKO! DON’T DIE YET! I CAN MAKE THIS RIGHT AGAIN! PLEASE COME BACK!”

“K-Kaidan…,” the woman whispers. “Please wait for me on the other side.”

I scream when she jump off the edge. In a reflex I jump after her and manage to grab her under her arms. She is wriggling and yelling at me: “Let me die! Let me die!”

 “Don’t be foolish and don’t involve Marko in this! His parents must be so worried right now!” I snarl as I use all my strength to keep that woman from falling.

Then I angrily add: “If you want to die, then do it alone!”

 

The woman now snivels and stares at the baby.

In the meantime, I hear Jani and Olli approach. Apparently they’ve caught up to us. When I start to loose grip and slip, Olli clutches his arms around my waist and keeps me from falling too. Jani’s the one holding Olli.

Akiko then sobs: “Y-You’re right. Here you have him, please… return him safely to his parents.”

I smile and nod. “We will.”

But then, just as Akiko is delivering me the baby, she loses her grip and the baby slips out of her hand. I shriek. Olli yells. Akiko screams. The baby cries and Jani-

 Jani jumps right after the baby without thinking twice.

We all hold our breaths as we see our friend catch the baby in mid-air and then fall onto a narrow  protruding part of the building.

 “I’M ALIVE! DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME GUYS!” Jani exclaims in victory. Alas, he’s too early with cheering as he loses his balance and falls again.

With the baby in one arm, he manages to catch the convenient banner that hangs near him. Of course, the thing isn’t designed to hold a grown man’s ass combined with a baby so the thing rips and Jani and the baby go through their third fall.

A heavy wind goes through the streets and it moves upwards, almost ‘catching’ Jani in his fall.

I can’t believe my eyes. Jani lands safely onto the streets again.

 “YOU DID IT, JANI!” Olli cheers him on.


	20. Happy New Year (Epilogue)

Akiko is arrested for attempted kidnap on an innocent baby.

Meanwhile, Jani, Olli and Jari get to rest in the hospital from the injuries they got during their adventure to give the baby back to his parents.

 

\--

 

The three homeless men are patiently waiting in one room.

Jani is staring outside the window and sighs: “What a wild New Year, right?”

 “It sure is. I still can’t believe you survived all those falls,” Olli grunts, yet he is happy no one died. He sits up and waves at Jari.

“Makes me think of it, fetch me a drink, will you?”

 “Where am I supposed to find alcohol in a _hospital_?” Jari snorts.

It makes Olli roll his eyes and point at his jacket. “It’s in my pocket, idio-.”

 “Alright, alright,” Jari huffs as he goes for the blond man’s jacket. “Because you’re decreasing your cursing. Almost makes me think you’ve changed, geezer.”

 “Hey, don’t call me old!” Olli growls and Jari and Jani laugh.

 

“Let’s watch some TV while we’re waiting,” Jani says to change the subject and avoid unnecessary tension.

They zap through the channels for there is nothing interesting on. But then Olli pauses Jani.

 “Wait! There, the lottery revelations!”

“Why are you suddenly interested?” Jari curiously quirks an eyebrow. Olli gestures the youngster to pick the pouch from his jacket too.

 He then takes a swig from his beer and chuckles: “The dying old man who was _really_ old, mind you, gave it to me. We might have a chance.”

Jari groans but takes the lottery ticket from his friend’s clothing anyway.

 “The winning number is a very unusual one this year: it’s one, one, one, one, one, one and one!” the announcer declares.

The three men examine their own ticket which says: 1.111.111

 

\--

 

At the other side of the door, the rightful couple of the baby is talking with the police officer who has helped them on their case to find their kidnapped son. The police man wears glasses and isn’t that tall.

 “Well, I’ve been told the people who rescued your kid are homeless,” he stammers.

The mother doesn’t seem to mind as she says: “Does it really matter if they’re homeless or not? I mean, they are _lifesavers_!”

 “Besides,” the father now speaks up, “We want to thank those guys. We even want them to become our son’s godfathers.”

 “Whatever suits you,” the police man nods with a smile and opens the door to the room.

 

“Gentlemen, may I introduce you to the parents of the baby you three rescued?” the police officer smiles. Then his jaw drops as he looks at one of the three rescuers.

 “Ja-Jari,” he stutters confused.

Now the youngest guy drops his jaw and stammers: “D-Dad.”

 “This can’t get any weirder, huh?” Olli cackles out loud. “Happy New Year to everyone!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the ending seems abrupt, but that's literally how the movie ended ^^*  
> Hope you enjoyed the wild adventure nonetheless :')
> 
> Anyway, what happened afterwards? These are my ideas:  
> \- Jari comes to terms with his father and apologizes. His father also tells him he's sorry and that he wants Jari to come home, which he eventually does.  
> \- Olli tries to curse less and begin a new and better life.   
> \- Olli and Jani try to find work so they can rent a small apartment together.  
> \- After that's established, Olli starts writing his son every now and then. Since his behaviour has changed for the better, he eventually can see Marko once in the two weeks.  
> \- No one knows where Markus and his wife are.  
> \- Jaska continues his mafia business  
> \- Marko the baby lives happily ever after with his real parents.  
> \- Akiko and Kaidan magically get together again after she's set her short sentence in jail.


End file.
